Frigid Moon
by Sunchaser55
Summary: AU based in the post-pandemic verse of The Last of Us. A vulture who takes from the lifeless, Saryuu Evan does what he must to survive. But it seems death is always following him like a shadow. Can a promise from a mysterious greenette save him?
1. Ch1 The God of Death & the Firefly

**Along with Lost Mirror, I've been working on a short story too! Because I'm trying to work on both at once, updates may be a bit slow sometimes. So please bear with me. Also, everything I know about guns comes from The Last of Us, and from a little bit of research using Google. Haha, please correct me if anything is horribly inaccurate. I suck with this sort of thing, and having only handled a gun once in my life... eee, yeah. **

**Oh, and to anybody who's never played The Last of Us, no worries! You don't need to have played in order to understand the story considering it has nothing to do with the game's actual characters or events.**

**Genre: Post-Pandemic, Romance, Tragedy, Horror, AU**

**Pairing: SaruFey, slight TenFey**

**WARNING: Strong Language, Violence, Blood & Gore, Alcohol, Minor Torture, Sex, & Death.**

**Note: The cover used for this story was my commission from Rinji over on Tumblr. Go to my profile to get the url! I recommend checking her blog out. Her artwork is gorgeous.**

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**Chapter One – The God of Death & the Firefly**

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_February 2032 (WINTER)_

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His breath painted the air with it's icy haze as he warily crept down the eerie alleyway. His shoes sank into the snow, generating more sounds than he would have liked as he continued forward, his gun poised in his steady hands as his violet orbs examined the blood splatters that stood out against the pure white blankets of snow.

Saryuu's gaze was hard as it followed the fresh blood trail through the small gap between the two crumbling skyscrapers. His thoughts were calm and collected, unwilling to yield to panic. He'd cleaned out the Infected in this area just the other day... Stragglers? Had he missed some? If so, who had they killed? Either way, if there was a dead body, then he could hopefully loot it of useful supplies.

Saryuu held his breath as he rounded the corner, carefully listening out for the usual groans or clicks of the Infected. The sun was beginning to set, and a few flakes continued to drift from the sky. The city was unnervingly quiet, almost seeming peaceful in it's own eerie sort of way.

Though that didn't seem to be the case for the corpse that lay propped against the brick wall around the alley's corner.

The Survivor with hair as white as the snow itself found his violet gaze drawn to the body almost instantly, snapping his gun in it's direction – indicating the paranoia years of surviving had caused him. He lowered it as he took in the body, preparing to check it for any sort of supplies he could swipe for himself.

The dead weren't in need of them...

Though Saryuu was quick to realize that 'dead' wasn't the case at all. His eyes widened through surprise when he took in the boy's fluttering eyes, and the way his hands desperately clasped at his side, blood streaming from between his quaking fingers and pooling onto the snow below. His teeth chattered loudly as he struggled to slow the rate at which his crimson red life force poured from him.

It appeared Saryuu's apparent corpse was very much alive.

At this rate, however, the teenage boy would die if he left him this way...

"What happened to you?" Saryuu knelt down before the dying boy, cocking his head slightly. He kept his 9mm pistol on hand, just in case. "You look like hell."

Saryuu watched as the boy's head flew up, and his violet eyes locked with minty coloured ones. Panic swam in their depths, though a bitterness was soon to replace it when a dark smile tugged at his lips, his voice weak. "If you're gonna kill me, just do it..."

"Now why would I do that?" Saryuu's voice was crisp in the winter air. His eyes searched the boy's face as he thought of what to do with him.

He could put him out of his misery.

Leave him.

Wait for him to die and then search his body later. Or even forcefully search his body right then and there.

Eventually, Saryuu's analyzing eyes took notice of the Firefly pendant that hung around the boy's neck. His violet eyes narrowed, his tone less friendly than before when he spoke next. What the hell would a member of the Fireflies be doing all the way out here? There were no Quarantine Zones close by. FEDRA wasn't around for them to pick a fight with... only Infected. Hunters lived in the town over, but as far as Saryuu knew, this city was as abandoned as any.

"Who did this to you?" Saryuu asked, reaching a hand out to grasp the Firefly pendant between his fingers. It read 'Fey Lune,' and the Fireflies emblem marked the opposite side. "If you're a Firefly, you better not tell me that you led FEDRA all the way out here."

Saryuu had prepared to move locations sometime soon, but if FEDRA was lingering about, he'd do so sooner in order to avoid them.

He released the pendant, letting it fall back against the boy's chest.

"So... you're not with them?" the green haired boy, Fey Lune apparently, asked almost hopefully. "Not FEDRA... The Hunters, I mean..."

"A hunter?" Saryuu frowned, "In a way, I suppose. Though I only kill if necessary." He may have robbed the dead, but he didn't wait around to murder the innocent. Not like most Hunters did. He was more so a scavenger, if anything. "Why? Are they the ones who hurt you?"

Fey nodded, though winced in pain afterwards. Saryuu watched as his fingers stiffened against his side, a whimper escaping him. "Y-yeah. In the town over. I was hungry... I didn't think there'd be so many of them..."

"So what? You stole their supplies?" Saryuu raised an eyebrow, a melodic laugh sounding from him. It seemed he found the situation entertaining, much to Fey's disbelief. "And you managed to make it out half-alive? You have guts. Then again, you're a Firefly. I suppose you'd need them. That, and a certain degree of skill. So tell me – I bet all of that 'follow the light' bullshit so wasn't worth it, by this point, now was it?"

"You're kind of a jerk," a weak, trembling smile found it's way to the dying boy's lips, "But you know what...? This sounds so, _**so**_ stupid. But I was always scared of dying alone... That's how I always pictured it'd be. But jerk or not... thanks for finding me. It's not so lonely..."

Saryuu's heart stopped in his chest at the words, despite his earlier amusement.

Lonely...

Saryuu thought back to his friends.

How many of them had died on their own? How many of them had been pried away from this unforgiving world by icy fingers of death, living their final moments as they drowned in the depths of loneliness and despair - realizing that their life was swiftly ticking away.

When would it finally be his turn?

The mere thought left a cold pit in Saryuu's stomach...

Setting his pistol back into it's holster with a sigh, Saryuu shrugged his backpack off, unzipping it and rummaging through it's contents. A shotgun was attached to it's side, which Fey had begun to eye.

Even through the intense chattering of his teeth, the greenette managed to murmur. "Could..." he choked on his words, "Could you put an end to it? Take it all away?"

"If you're implying that I shoot you, then no. Ammo is hard to come across. I don't intend on wasting it." Saryuu didn't even raise his head from where his eyes were glued to his bag as he responded, but his senses were all on high alert – listening out for even the faintest trace of approaching Infected or any other sort of threat. He hated staying in one spot for too long, but it wasn't as if he could carry the boy back to his safe haven. Not in his condition.

"I suppose that's only fair..." Fey remained lighthearted, despite his misery, "It was selfish of me to ask... Still makes you a jerk though."

Saryuu smirked as he fished out a kit of sorts, tossing his bag to the side before shuffling closer to the fallen greenette and hastily opening up the kit's lid – revealing a few medical supplies inside. It didn't seem there was all too much left.

"Well this 'jerk' isn't going to shoot you, because you're not going to die, got it?" Saryuu said in his silvery voice, looking over his medical supplies before grabbing for a bottle of alcohol and stating, "This is gonna sting like a bitch, but we need to disinfect your wound."

Fey blinked at the other, fairly astonished. Why help him? It didn't seem like he'd planned to before...

"But...why?" he clutched more tightly at his wound, gathering the courage to peer down at it and take in the startling amounts of blood that tainted both the snow and his ragged jacket. "I don't want you to waste any of your medical supplies on me. Those sorts of things are scarce... Save them for somebody else... I'm probably gonna die either way by this point..."

Saryuu pried Fey's hands away from where they clasped at his side, unzipping the boy's jacket and carefully peeling it from his body before draping it over him like a blanket instead. It would keep him as warm as he could be, while giving Saryuu enough access to treat his wound.

"Do you _want _to die?" Saryuu's tone was calm, despite his words as he tugged Fey's shirt up and inspected the wound, "I'm already aware that my medical supplies need replenishing, so how about you shut up and accept my offer before I change my mind about it?" Before Fey could say anything in return, the white haired Survivor concluded in a softer voice, "You'll be fine. It looks like a knife wound? It isn't too deep. You probably would've died from the cold before bleeding out completely."

Blood was smeared against the boy's porcelain skin, and so Saryuu dabbed the area around the wound with a cloth before preparing to apply the alcohol. His violet eyes looked up from where they'd been locked on the greenette's side, meeting troubled minty orbs. "Are you ready?" he asked, "I'm going to start by disinfecting the wound, and then from there, I'll apply stitches. Both will hurt a lot, but you'll live."

Fey nodded his head silently in quick, shallow motions. The look in his eyes, however, swam with the question of 'why.' Why would he even bother when they were strangers?

But he didn't protest, instead resting his hands underneath the warmth of his coat. One hand curled around the fabric of his pants as the fingers of his other held his shirt in place for Saryuu, preparing for the onslaught of pain that was to come as he took an unsteady intake of air. He assured himself that he'd be fine... He could handle it... He'd been through unbearable amounts of agony before. Hell, he was already in pain presently.

He clenched his jaw the moment the alcohol came into contact with his skin, hissing through his teeth before his lips were forced apart and a scream tore it's way from his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly in an automatic response, his side feeling as if it'd been set aflame. His heart throbbed wildly in his chest as his head was overcome with dizziness and racing, unintelligible thoughts.

Nothing made sense anymore, just the pain as his vision flashed white behind his eyelids.

When he finally managed to catch his breath, it was shallow and raspy. Eventually, his eyes reluctantly fluttered open, and he fuzzily made out the sight of the white haired boy as he tugged at the black goggles that rested on the top of his head, and placed them over his eyes before he began suturing. The way their pale yellow lenses narrowed his vision helped him focus.

"You're doing fine," Saryuu's tone indicated his utmost concentration as he carefully wove the torn skin back together. A bead of sweat ran down his face, his calm exterior doing a flawless job at masking his inner worry. The boy's prior screams would most definitely attract any nearby Clickers or other types of Infected. He could only hope that he really had cleaned them all out the other day...

He listened out for any indication of their approach the entire procedure, though it bugged him that he'd be delayed in his actions by a few seconds considering he'd have to reach for his bag and then ready his shotgun. A few seconds delay alone could result in certain death.

"Talking may help you cope with the pain, assuming you're capable of even that," Saryuu offered as he continued with his work, hoping that maybe speech would help him ease his own nerves also. "I mean, I'd offer to hold your hand and all," he teased, his lips turning up in a smirk, "But I need them both, as you can see. Though, I suppose it's best to assume you're too badass for that, being a Firefly and all."

"Are you always a dick?" Fey's voice trembled, but Saryuu could hear the attempted smile in his tone.

As messed up as the entire situation was, Saryuu couldn't keep from thinking that it was somehow... _nice_. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spoken with somebody, and frankly, he liked to talk. Normally, he'd talk to himself considering that was the only option available to him, but it wasn't the same when there was no response.

This however, well it was soothing. He hadn't ever admitted just how much he'd missed the company; of how much he'd missed conversations, asides from those he shared with those attempting to kill him.

"It seems your impression of me is final," Saryuu laughed, a musical sound that was pleasant to Fey's ears yet tinged with a sort of sarcasm that the injured boy couldn't decipher. Saryuu seemed quite complicated. "And here I thought I'd redeemed myself."

"Hmmm," Fey closed his eyes at the discomfort that followed as Saryuu continued to draw the needle and string through him repeatedly, the pain sharp and the wound continuing to ache from it's prior exposure to the alcohol. It hurt like hell, and he was beginning to feel nauseous. A whimper coming from him, he responded breathlessly, his faint laugh unsteady, "I'll decide once you're finished."

Any facial features that indicated Saryuu's earlier amusement diminished as he became absorbed in focus yet again, his mouth a tight line. "Which will be soon. It won't take much longer now."

He strained his violet eyes, as the sun had now sank into the sky, leaving him with nothing but silver tinged moonlight. With a frustrated sigh, he dragged his backpack closer towards him with his foot, holding the string and needle in place with a single hand as he outstretched the other to click the button on his flashlight. It had been attached to his bag's strap, and he angled it as best as he could before picking back up from where he'd left off.

Fey's eyes grew soft as he continued to watch the stranger, his appreciation evident. It still troubled him that a complete stranger would come to his aid. In this cruel, unforgiving world most people were out for only themselves.

This white haired boy, no matter how cynical, was like some sort of guardian angel. Fey's saviour. The gentle swirl of snowflakes that danced around him, and the silver light of the moon that highlighted his features really weren't helping Fey with that belief.

"C-could..." Fey paused, gritting his teeth through his pain, "What's your name?"

Saryuu blinked, astonished at the incredibly simple question. But he was quick to recollect himself as he answered rather coolly, his gaze unflinching from where it was fixated on Fey's side,"Saryuu Evan. But you can call me Saru."

"Saru?" Fey repeated the name, "Saru as in monkey?"

Saryuu laughed musically, "Fey Lune, correct? You should be the last to question name meanings. Your name is hardly appropriate for our ruthless, post-pandemic world." He paused. "Well, this may sound dark, but it may be that it IS fitting that makes it highly inappropriate. I don't believe anybody would wish for such a cruel reminder." When Fey didn't answer, Saryuu suspected that the boy had no idea what it was he spoke of, so he added, "In Old German, your name's meaning was either 'Doomed' or 'Fated to die.' Not exactly the sort of name I'd wish upon myself."

"Yeah, tell that to the injured kid, mister insensitive."

Saryuu's smile grew more gentle as he added, "On another note, in French, your name means Faith."

The Survivor didn't admit such to the Firefly, but he found Faith far more fitting to the greenette. Despite the hopelessness that'd long ago consumed him, Saryuu found himself feeling even the least bit hopeful with the discovery of this boy. Instead of witnessing death all around him, he'd somehow managed to preserve life. For once...

"How can my name have two completely different meanings?" Fey asked, his tone both amused yet disbelieving.

"I don't know... The world was strange before the pandemic hit," Saryuu shrugged his shoulders, though just barely considering he didn't wish for the vibration of the motion to cause Fey any unnecessary pain. "From books and magazines I've found and read throughout my travels, it all sounds like what they referred to as Fairy Tales. I mean, I can't imagine what it must have been like to live that way. Where their biggest issues were deciding what clothes to wear ; which social groups to be apart of ; what to do with their long lives."

Fey nodded in agreement, though what appeared to be longing clouded his minty eyes. It wasn't until Fey spoke as brightly as he could manage through his body's trauma that Saryuu understood why. "But have you ever seen anything in any magazine or book that you really wish you could see or do?"

"Oh?" Saryuu's smirk returned, "_You_ clearly have."

Fey clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath before replying, "You could say that." A small smile found it's way to his quivering lips. "I've been learning about it through whatever I could, mostly magazines and my papa. It's called soccer, and if I could do one thing from their world, it'd be that."

"Soccer?" Saryuu repeated the word, an eyebrow raised, "Isn't that what the old world called a sport? The one where one kicks a ball around?" It was a strange mental image to have. The last thing he could imagine himself doing was kicking around some ball, especially when all he ever did benefited his survival somehow. Did all Fireflies have time to think about such unrealistic things? Why waste time fantasizing when he could be improving his shots and other skills? Or hunting for essential supplies?

_'Maybe because he still has faith...' _

Perhaps Fey's name suited him more so then Saryuu had first considered.

"That's the one," Fey closed his eyes, gritting his teeth one final time as Saryuu finished with the last of the sutures. The white haired Survivor withdrew, wiping the cold sweat from his brow and lifting his goggles from his face in order to place them back onto the top of his head. Attentively, he helped the boy back into his jacket. "Papa's the one who told me about it... He was around before the pandemic hit, so he's really knowledgeable."

Saryuu stored the med kit back into his bag, swinging it over his shoulders before returning to where he knelt at Fey's side. "You're all patched up. But it's best that you don't move for a while, so I suppose it'd be acceptable for me to take you with me to my safe house."

As much as he detested the mere thought of carrying Fey the entire way... It would be dangerous.

If they were to run into any enemies... well, he'd need to hope that he would notice them before they knew of his own presence. Only then would Saryuu be granted enough time to place Fey down safely and then ready his weapon of choice. But if he was spotted, chances of death – for Fey, in particular – would increase significantly.

He was hardly fond of such odds, but it was too late to ditch the injured boy. There was no point in that, not after Saryuu had used medical supplies on him. They'd only go to waste, otherwise. He'd chosen to take temporary responsibility of him, whether the greenette was currently useless or not.

"A-are you sure that's okay?" Fey furrowed his eyebrows, almost worriedly, "Is it far? How will you defend yourself if -"

Saryuu carefully scooped the boy into his arms, silencing him. Fey was rather surprised as the white haired boy's strong arms snaked beneath his legs. Saryuu's second arm supported Fey's back, and the Survivor lifted himself from where he'd been kneeling as he lifted Fey and cuddled him towards his chest. Despite his earlier protest, Fey's arms automatically locked around Saryuu's neck for extra support.

"Shut up and let me handle it," Saryuu breathed out into the icy, night air. "Or would you rather I leave you here in the snow?"

The greenette fell silent, and so Saryuu made his way forward, hoping not to hear anymore protests as he made his way through the alleyway, emerging out onto a dark street packed with decaying cars and snow dusted debris. It would be difficult to maneuver his way back, considering he wouldn't be able to climb over such obstacles this time.

Saryuu decided to take the detour, squeezing in-between what cars he could before reaching the opposite side of the road. He avoided ice patches that indicated areas that had been flooded in the warmer temperatures, entering a glass skyscraper that'd once been coated in bright green vegetation. Now, however, the only thing indicating such were the dead vines that continued to entangle the dull building's glass surface. Several windows had been shattered, and so snow had drifted into the building's interior.

The survivor crept down a snow dusted hallway, it's walls peeling and crumbling in areas. Firefly graffiti coated less damaged areas of the wall's surface, including both their emblem and their motto, 'follow the light.'

Saryuu narrowed his violet orbs as he intently listened out for any noises that indicated that they were not alone...

Eventually, Saryuu came to a halt as his flashlight illuminated the large gap in the floor. A plank had been set there by another who had obviously needed it to cross in the past, but Saryuu inspected it suspiciously, unconfident that it would hold. The cold temperatures had most likely coated it with ice, making it prone to snapping in half underneath both his and Fey's weight...

Cursing, he peered down into the splintered hole, his flashlight shimmering against a surface that must have been water. A flooded basement...

Saryuu didn't know how deep the water's level was. It would be unimaginably cold, and if it was deep enough, they would most likely drown if they fell in.

If not for Fey, he may have even been able to jump the distance.

Taking a reassuring breath, Saryuu concluded that he had no other choice and so took his chances with the plank. He tested it with his foot first, checking that it still contained any strength at all. Focused, he took a step forward. Fey must have realized what they were doing also, because Saryuu could feel the boy's hold tighten around his neck as he pressed his face into him. "What?" Saryuu mocked in an attempt to help sooth his own nerves. He flinched at the groan the plank made as he achieved the half way point. It was slippery, but manageable, at least. Now, if only it would hold for a few more seconds. "Don't tell me you're scared of heights."

"No," Fey didn't lift his head, which left his voice muffled, "I just don't like dark, ominous basements."

"What? Have a bad experience?"

"Who hasn't." Fey added, "My impression of you hasn't changed, by the way."

"Ouch, how about I drop you r-"

Saryuu choked on his words when he could feel the wood that supported him begin to give away, a piercing crack echoing through the narrow hallway. He leaped the last little bit of distance, landing on the other side of the gap with a thud just as the plank snapped in two with a deafening crunch behind him.

"Holy crap," Saryuu heard Fey just barely breathe into his coat, unmoving as his arms remained stiffly wrapped around his neck.

Saryuu chuckled a bit, recollecting himself before continuing down the hall. He could feel it as Fey gradually began to relax in his hold again.

As tempting as it was, Saryuu fought the desire to investigate the several offices he passed, telling himself that he'd have to come back and search them for anything useful when he wasn't preoccupied with Fey. For now, he wanted nothing more than to hurry back to his safe haven.

He froze when they managed to reach the rear side of the skyscraper. They'd taken a few more detours, having to go up and down floors as the path ahead of them was blocked. But now, Saryuu found himself at an opening. Snow and wind whistled in through the window's jagged hole. It appeared large enough for Saryuu to climb through.

What had halted both his heart and motion, however, were the faint clicking noises that sounded from the other side.

"I'm going to check things outside beforehand," Saryuu mentioned as he knelt to the ground and set Fey down on the floor. He placed him against a wall, which supported his back. The greenette hissed in pain, his hands shooting to his side.

With that, Saryuu dragged a nearby desk over to the opening in the wall, using it as a boost before peering outside. The road here was far clearer than the previous one. He'd be able to move along it without worrying about any obstacles slowing him down. The only thing he'd need to be wary of were ice patches that indicated the flooded areas.

Continuing forward would have to wait, however.

The clicking noises from before were far clearer, and it didn't take long before Saryuu took in the form of the Infected Clicker as it walked through the snow with it's distinctive limp. It wandered aimlessly a few feet below, having not noticed him. As it was blind, it didn't take notice of Saryuu's flashlight as it washed over it's grotesque form. The Cordyceps Fungus, like all Clickers, had protruded from it's face, concealing it's eyes and framing it's facial features like some sort of monstrous masquerade mask.

Saryuu frowned as he crawled back down from the desk and back into the safe interior of the building. Well, it was safe for now, at least...

He scooped Fey back up, carrying him onto the top of the desk's surface before resting him back down. Saryuu grabbed for his 9mm pistol, releasing it from his holster and pressing it against Fey's fingers until he took it uncertainty.

"There's a lone Clicker out there, and there could be more nearby." Saryuu whispered, readying his shotgun as he took it from where it'd been strapped to his bag. "You need to stay here, and just in case, if you had to, do you know how to use that?"

Fey nodded. Thank god. He'd been a Firefly. Saryuu would've been concerned if the boy couldn't even handle a firearm. "Yeah, but-"

"No buts," Saryuu continued firmly, "You're useless to me like this. But I do have to ask you to do one painful thing for me. Do you think you can handle it?" He nodded a second time. "Good. Once I jump from this window, I won't be able to get back in here. So when I give the okay, you're going to have to stand up and jump from this opening. Got it? Don't worry, I'll catch you."

"Saru, why don't you just take a shot from up here? Wouldn't that be safer?"

He'd considered it, but shook his head in response. He'd use his shotgun if necessary, but if he could preserve ammo, then that would be best. Having loaded it, just in case, Saryuu placed his shotgun back onto his backpack. "No. Like I said, there may be more of them, so I'll try and stealth kill it. I don't want to attract more than I have to." His violet eyes narrowed as he asked a second time, his tone sharper then it'd been previous. "You didn't answer my question. Do you think you can handle it or not?"

"Okay," Fey tried not to think about the scenario where his sutures burst open at the performance... His frown, however, was more so the result of his own self-deprecation. He hated feeling so useless. First, Saryuu had patched him up, and now he had to lay around as Saryuu threw himself into Clicker territory. He couldn't keep from feeling bitter. "Be careful."

"Perfect," Saryuu directed a small smile at the greenette before climbing through the window and jumping through it. It wasn't all too high, but the crunch of snow beneath his feet as he landed was still enough to grab the Clicker's attention. It stiffened, ceasing all movement asides from the swivelling of it's head as it cried out into the night with it's bone chilling clicks and groans.

Saryuu remained the way he'd landed – crouched. He moved at a slow, careful pace, his hand brushing along the edge of the shiv he had prepared. The sounds of his feet in the snow, however, made stealth almost impossible.

Saryuu bit the inside of his mouth as the Clicker went to investigate where he had first landed. But it was quick to catch on to the quiet shuffling of his boots in the snow as he moved, no matter how slow. It's head snapped in his direction, and it crept towards him in it's clumsy array of movements.

"Fuck," Saryuu lipped, his eyes searching the ground for any sort of safe spots – an area that was free of snow, maybe. But he spotted something far more helpful instead.

An empty liquor bottle.

Saryuu crept over to it, eagerly taking it into his hands before bringing his arm back and throwing it into the wall of a nearby building.

It shattered on impact, exploding into a hundred glass pieces against the wall before spraying onto the snow's surface. It's piercing scream filled the air, and the Clicker was quick to back off, turning it's back on him as it hurried over to the source of the earsplitting noise.

Saryuu quickly approached it when it's back was still turned, coming up behind it and wrapping an arm around it firmly before driving his shiv into it's throat, it's shrill clicks and miserable screams dying along with it as it sagged to the floor.

He moved away from the corpse as if it were poison, crouching back down to the ground as he listened out for any signs of any other approaching infected. His heart pounded in his chest as he did so, the adrenaline that'd been pumped into his veins still very much present. The thumping made it difficult for him to distinguish any other sounds as it rung madly in his ears.

When he was confident that he was alone, Saryuu stood up straight, storing the shiv that would most likely be capable of surviving one more use before the abuse rendered it unusable.

He moved towards the jagged opening of the building he had been inside previous, his voice seeming louder than he would have liked in the empty air around them once he spoke. "Fey?" he called, "Fey, are you alright? It's safe now, so hurry up. But watch out for the glass edges."

An unnoticed sigh of relief followed when Saryuu directed his flashlight's beam towards the shattered window, and he watched as Fey's illuminated form shakily stood and peeked through the gap. He'd stuck the 9mm in his pocket for now, his facial features twisted by the agony of standing.

He whimpered, clutching at his side before warning Saryuu that he was ready to jump. The white haired boy reassured him that he was prepared, readying his arms and trying to coax him into jumping.

Once he did, Saryuu caught him with ease, though the impact left Fey hissing through his teeth, the pain dizzying to him.

Saryuu inspected his clothes for any blood leakage that would indicate broken sutures, but it seemed Fey was fine. Or, as fine as he could be, at least.

"We're almost there." Pain or not, Saryuu couldn't keep from thinking that they had no time to stop. He continued down the snow covered road, keeping a look out for any eerie shapes that moved about in the shadowy light of his flashlight. "You can rest when we're safe."

Just a few more blocks...

"I'm fine," Fey said, "You're the one who just had a one-on-one with the Clicker. It didn't hurt you, did it?"

"A lone Clicker?" Saryuu laughed, "God no. Do I seem so pathetic?"

Fey's pained expression lit up faintly with a small smile as he teased, "I didn't take you as the type to be so sensitive."

Saryuu simply smirked at that, carrying Fey the remainder of the way in silence as his senses remained on high alert. He grew more and more relieved once the building's dark form came into view, the silver moonlight bathing it as if it were the light at the end of a dark tunnel.

His flashlight flew over the worn out sign as he approached. It appeared that it had been made up of incandescent lights of some kind, though it had long ago stopped working. A few of the glass letters were severely cracked and the X in Extreme was broken and resting on an angle.

It read 'The Extreme Rabbit.' In smaller font underneath was 'Nightclub.'

Inside, broken glass from liquor bottles and overhead lights coated the vast, open floor. A stage of some kind resided in the back, and there was a set of stairs to the right that led to an upper floor. But their metal had already been twisted and broken by the time Saryuu had first come across it, making exploration of the upper floor impossible.

Strange, plastic appearing chairs and tables that seemed to match were strewn all around, littering random areas of the room. Silver moonlight shown through the windows, acting as the room's one and only light source.

Light amounts of snow coated the dark coloured floor, having seeped in through any broken windows.

Saryuu ignored the surroundings, making a beeline for a heavy duty door that was located in the back corner of the apparent nightclub.

He managed to swing it open, despite the awkwardness of having Fey in his arms, and then locked it behind him before making his way down a set of concrete stairs into the nightclub's basement.

A few pieces of furniture that Saryuu had taken from the upper floor decorated his living quarters, and a bright gas lamp lit it's space as it sat on a centre table. High windows hung on the walls, allowing for the moonlight to flow inside and also aid with lighting the dark room.

A mattress without a bed frame rested in one of the room's corners, and another corner was occupied with many of his findings and other supplies. There were some cans of food ; a few magazines ; some backup weapons...

Saryuu went right to the bed, gently laying Fey onto it's surface. He was surprised to see that the greenette had already drifted into sleep somehow, probably having done so when he was still in Saryuu's arms. It didn't look all too peaceful, however. The boy's eyebrows were knitted together and his lashes seemed to flutter ever so slightly. Not even sleep could help him to escape the pain.

Now that the boy was asleep, Saryuu took the time to inspect him for any bites. He _wanted _to believe that Fey had told him nothing but the truth, but he couldn't be too careful. Better to be safe than sorry, especially when the world was littered with many who were crooked. The last thing he wanted was to wake up to a Fey who attacked him through the disorientation and increased aggression that the infection caused in earlier stages. Glad to find him clear, Saryuu pulled the thin bed blankets over him.

"I've done all I can do for him," Saryuu muttered, violet eyes flickering over his sleeping form. He wished he had some type of pain killer to give to him. The Hunters in the town over probably did... But bargaining with them was out of the question. Saryuu was proud to say that he was more then confident that he could most definitely take on a group of them in a gun fight, hands down. But that was also out of the question. Not only would it be a large waste of ammo, depending on whether the Hunters had a large amount stashed away for him to take after he'd won, but he was also wary of their tendency to hold grudges.

Groups always seemed to be affiliated, and the last thing he wanted to do was earn himself a grudge from various groups of spread out Hunters who would become hell bent on avenging their buddies.

For now, however, Saryuu placed his bag next to a chair he seated himself upon, fetching his shotgun and resting it in his lap. Reluctantly, he closed his eyes and told himself that it was okay to sleep now.

It took quite a bit of time before his instincts settled down enough, allowing for him to relax into the chair, his hands loosely settled upon his gun. He wasn't even sure if he _wanted _to sleep. All it brought upon him were more nightmares, though these ones weren't real and only a figment of his imagination. That, or resurfaced memories that his guilty mind forced him to relive.

_'You have purpose now... Think about protecting him... Fey...' _

Saryuu turned his head in his chair, taking one last glance at the boy before hesitantly closing his eyes yet again. It was when he encouraged himself that sleep would help him protect the greenette that Saryuu gradually found himself drifting off, his mind growing hazy as he settled into a pit of darkness. Though this time, it didn't feel so cold...

* * *

_The rain splattered against the pavement, falling heavily from the dull sky. It ran through Saryuu's white strands of hair and across his tanned skin, staining his face with it's misery as Saryuu's violet eyes dilated in horror._

_He gathered the silver object from the ground with trembling fingers, his mind blank in it's inability to accept what it meant. _

"_M-Meia?" the words just barely escaped his lips as fear entangled his heart and turned the blood in his veins cold. The silver object in his hand was undoubtedly hers... It was the engagement ring Giris had given to her a few months before. But she wouldn't ever lose it. No way... She never even took the damned thing off her finger. _

_It didn't make sense... Not unless she was... _

_He couldn't process it. _

_Placing the ring into his pocket, Saryuu continued onward, his stomach in knots as he repeatedly chastised himself for letting them split off into groups... "We should have stayed together... Why didn't I stay with them...? First Pino... then Nike... Imusu, Yuuchi, Yokka, Om, Sheep... Why?" _

_So much death. _

_Too much. _

"_Meia... Giris... Please don't leave me... Please...You're all I have left..." _

_Not too much further from where he'd found the ring, Saryuu found their bodies. _

_Saryuu clasped a hand to his mouth, holding in a strangled cry as the horrors that had once been his friends filled his vision. Mutilated bodies, blood and tangled hair were all that was left. If not for the long, purple hair that was distinctly Meia's, and the black framed glasses of the boy next to her, their corpses would have been unrecognizable... _

_This wasn't the work of Hunters or Infected... _

_Cannibals. _

_Saryuu bowed his head, fighting the burning sensation that tormented his eyes as he fought the urge to throw up. He couldn't look any longer... not at the bodies that had been left mangled, their limbs viciously torn from them so that the cannibals could carry them... _

"_Oh god..." Saryuu choked, squeezing his eyes shut as the tears finally came, spilling down his face and mixing with the rain water. "I can't. I can't!" _

"_Saru!" _

_The white haired boy's eyes snapped open at the distant voice. _

"_Meia?" he murmured hopefully, "Giris?" _

_The voice answered with another call of his name._

_So what? He was going crazy now? _

_Saryuu answered thickly, his shoulders quaking as he desperately called out to the voice in which he couldn't see, "Hello!? Is somebody there! Please help me! Don't leave me alone! I can't stand being alone!" _

"_Saru! Saru, wake up!" _

The white haired boy's eyes snapped open, his heart hammering through his chest and a gasp tearing it's way from his throat. He could feel hands on him, and so thrashed in response to their touch, his shotgun slipping from his lap and clacking onto the floor below through his panic.

It wasn't until he'd pushed the greenette to the floor roughly that Saryuu's eyes fluttered, his confusion diminishing when he realized he'd been locked within a nightmare and now resided in reality.

"Fey!" Saryuu shot up from his chair, staring down at the boy who lay at his feet. He didn't know whether to help him up, or to feel so ashamed that he couldn't even manage to do so. Instead, he tried to appear nonchalant, turning his head away as he muttered, almost bitterly, "I'm sorry..."

Fey picked himself up from the ground, clutching at his side as he shook his head. "You were having a nightmare... You don't need to apologize. You were crying out in your sleep..."

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Saryuu seemed to snap, falling back into his chair as he crossed his arms over his chest and avoided the boy's eyes.

"I'm fine," Fey sat down in the chair opposite of Saryuu, his soft facial features highlighted by the light of the nearby gas lamp as he directed a reassuring smile at him. "I feel a lot better, thanks to you."

"Good," Saryuu's tone was sour, the words tumbling from his mouth before he could even think in his desperate attempt to avoid the subject of his nightmare. He didn't need some stranger to witness him in such a state. It was embarrassing. "Once you're healthy again, it's best for you to leave. So think about where it is you plan to go. Go back to your Firefly friends, or whatever."

Fey pressed his lips together tightly, peering into his lap before his minty coloured hues flickered back to Saryuu's violet gaze. "I can't..." he murmured, "I ran away."

"Oooh, what a rebel. I'm sure they'll take you back, regardless."

The greenette furrowed his eyebrows, the first trace of anger on the boy's face that Saryuu had witnessed thus far. Fey's tone sounded slightly lower, more warning. "You don't know what happened. I'm not going back."

Saryuu shrugged his shoulders before leaning down to retrieve his shotgun. He set it on the table next to his chair. "I honestly don't care whether you go back there or not. But you need to sort _something_ out. Trust me. Nothing good would come of it if you stayed here."

Everyone around him seemed to meet death. He was a reaper.

"We're both on our own! So we may as well help each other out," Fey insisted, raising his voice, "Besides, I owe you! You saved my life, so the least I could do is help you survive. You're like..." he searched for the word, desperate to convey how it was he felt, "You're my saviour!"

Saryuu couldn't hold back his mocking laugh, which only caused Fey to fight the topic further.

"You think it sounds stupid? Well, of course you do. But you know what? You're a complete asshole, so what should I expect?" Fey's facial expression was mocking in it's own sort of way right then, though it was quickly consumed with sheer determination and raw emotion when he continued, "But if it weren't for you, I would've died today. I would've rotted in some alleyway, alone and scared as I lived the last of my moments wondering if an Infected would find me, or if there was anybody out there who would even remember me!"

Saryuu's amusement faded from his face as the images of Meia and Giris haunted his mind...

Had they been scared, knowing that the end was approaching? Had they still been alive as the cannibals had torn their bodies apart?

And what about him? No one remained who would even remember him if he were to die... What did that mean for Meia and Giris, and all the other Survivors he had considered his friends? If he died, who would remember them?

"You're persistent..." Saryuu propped his elbow against the chair's arm, resting his chin against the surface of his knuckles as he watched Fey with an unwavering gaze. The golden light from the lantern glowed in those fierce eyes. He didn't like it... he didn't like it at all. He wouldn't be able to stand it if he witnessed another ally die. Why was he hurting himself like this? Because he was lonely, and longed for the boy to stay? Because of what he'd said? With an unnoticeable sigh, Saryuu's eyes narrowed and a slight furrow appeared in his brow as he said with a hard gaze, "I'll permit it. But only if you can promise me that you'll never die on me."

"What?" Now it was Fey's turn to fight the sardonic look from his face. "But-"

"Either you promise, or you can leave," Saryuu stated, his voice cold.

Fey hesitated, finding the promise to be a childish one. But the serious glint in Saryuu's eyes displayed to him that Saryuu was in need of it. He wasn't joking. Either way, Fey believed that keeping such a promise was an impossible feat in such a harsh world. But despite that, he accepted, regardless. "Okay. I promise."

Pleased, Saryuu gave the boy a slight smile through the dimness. "Good..." his tone was warm, "Now get back to bed. It's still the middle of the night."

Fey glanced towards one of the many high windows, realizing that Saryuu was indeed correct. The sky was tinged ebony, it's twinkling stars and glowing moon embraced by it's shadowy blanket.

Fey hesitated at the suggestion, his eyes watching Saryuu and his body unmoving. "You know..." he began cautiously, his minty orbs glowing with both sympathy and a soothing gentleness. "Before we go back to bed, we can talk about your nightmare, if you'd like? I imagine it must be scary to go back to sleep after having it. It might help if you talk about it."

"There are a lot of scary things in this world," Saryuu responded, "But you know what? That's life."

"That doesn't mean you can't talk about it if -"

That spiteful laugh from before returned and Saryuu shook his head at the boy. "And what about the Fireflies? Do you want to talk about that? To tell me why you left?" When Fey silently shook his head, an emotion that looked an awful lot like guilt crossing his facial features, Saryuu laughed even more bitterly, "See? There's some things we each need to keep to ourselves."

Fey bowed his head, troubled orbs staring into his lap as he bit at his lower lip. He felt bad for prying, as Saryuu was right. If Fey had been in his shoes, he probably would have grown agitated as well. He couldn't stand it when others tried to include themselves in his business.

Hoping to maybe make it up to him, Fey proposed, tilting his head to the side as he forced a smile, "Then is it okay if we just talk? Not about anything personal... I don't know. Just talk. Talk about anything. I'd like to get some air anyway."

"You're hardly fit to go out for a walk," Saryuu mentioned. But the longer he found himself staring into Fey's face, the more he could feel himself soften somewhat. "Buuut," he added musically, "If you'd really like, I can take you upstairs and we can lay on a table or something. The windows are mostly shattered, so there'll be plenty of fresh, winter air for you to breathe in. Besides, talking with you sounds charming, so how can I decline?"

Fey beamed, watching as Saryuu stood from his seat and wandered over to his side. He gently took the boy into his arms, carrying him up the basement stairs.

Just as he'd proposed, he set him down on one of the many tables once they emerged out onto the open, upper floor, sitting down next to him. The air was cold to his lungs, but it was refreshing in a way. He glanced over at Fey, following the eyes that stared up at one of the large windows. A perfect view of the moon was framed there.

There was something alluring about him... Maybe it was the way he'd fought to stay by his side, despite knowing him for only the past few hours. Or the faith he'd given him by showing him that he was capable of more then just death. Or maybe it was the fierceness of those eyes. Or perhaps it was even the way the moonlight washed over his form right then...

"So," Fey turned towards him, catching his stare. He didn't question it, however, instead tilting his head faintly as he asked, "To start, tell me a bit about yourself. I mean, we're partners or something now, so help me get to know you better. Hmmm, what's your favourite colour? Yeah, we can start there."

Saryuu thought about it, realizing how rusty he was with simple conversation. "I don't know," he struggled, bringing a hand to his chin in thought, "Orange, maybe?"

He thought of sunsets and how witnessing one always reminded him that he'd survived yet another day. That, and the way they painted the sky with swirls of different shades was breathtakingly beautiful. He thought about how he wanted to maybe watch a sunset with Fey someday.

Definitely orange.

"For some reason everybody always thinks that's my favourite colour," Fey smiled, "It's nice, but mine would have to be red."

"Red can mean many things," Saryuu smirked, "Do you associate it with danger? Fire? Passion? Blood? Anger? Beauty? Sacrifice?"

He was satisfied when he brought on a pleasant sounding laugh.

"What are you even going on about? I like it because I like it," Fey let his laughter settle before adding, "What about food? Do you have a favourite food?"

Saryuu shrugged, "It's not like we have a choice in what we eat. I'm happy, so long as it gets me by. Why? How about you? You've tasted that one thing in particular that you now crave? How charming for you."

"I mean, with conditions the way they are, I'm always more than happy to eat whatever it is that's available, but I'll never forget this one type of cereal that my papa found and gave to me when I was little. It was cinnamon flavoured, and I haven't come across it again since. But that just makes the memory all the more special." Fey smiled, a look that almost seemed sad and somehow nostalgic. "My papa was always looking out for me."

Saryuu decided not to ask any questions, concluding that he avoid personal discussions. In such a cold, desolate world the outcome to such questions could be any. The possibilities were countless, and having endured plenty of loss of his own, Saryuu would much rather avoid causing Fey any unwanted thoughts or memories.

Fey realized that he must have left their conversation off on an awkward note, and so picked up from where he'd left off, switching topics with a forced grin. "You knew that my first name meant Faith, right? How about Lune. Does that mean anything?"

"It means moon, which is also French..." Saryuu paused as he gazed up at the moon above, "It suits well with Faith. I mean, the moon itself is a beacon: a light in all of this darkness."

Fey blushed, uncertain on whether he should take the statement personally or not. Had Saryuu intended to direct the compliment towards him – using his name meaning to indirectly flatter him? Or had Saryuu said such without intending that at all? Fey didn't know how to respond, and so merely found himself staring into Saryuu's violet orbs.

He couldn't imagine that it'd been meant for him. How the hell was he like a beacon? A light in the darkness? If anything, that was exactly what Saryuu was to him. He'd saved him, after all.

The air around them fell silent as Saryuu seemed to look off into the sky, gazing at the stars that shone brightly in the sky alongside the moon.

Fey chose to embrace that comfortable silence, ignoring the ache in his side as he withdrew his stare from the other and followed suit by watching the sky also.

He didn't know how much time had passed before it was broken, but it'd been long enough for Fey to settle into it considering he jumped when Saryuu next spoke, grasping at his side when a sharp pain followed after the startling motion.

"What are you thinking about?"

Fey scrambled for a response, shrugging his shoulders in a shallow motion as he replied rather sheepishly, "I don't know. That the sky's pretty, I guess." He didn't admit that it was pleasant to be in the other Survivor's company. He hadn't been around anybody his age in quite a while. Hell, he hadn't been around anybody he could consider an ally since he'd left the Fireflies. He added with a teasing smile, "It's about time you asked _**me **_a question. Go ahead and throw me another one."

"Which weapons are you skilled in using?" Saryuu looked the boy up and down curiously, trying to picture what it was he'd seen Fireflies use when it came to their weapons of choice. He'd seen some wield firearms, while another's skill resided with a bow and arrow. Saryuu shook his head in disapproval at the thought. He liked their ability to stealth kill, but he couldn't keep from finding them to be inconvenient. Perhaps it was his bias for firearms talking. He'd always had a good shot when it came to guns.

"Right down to business, huh?" Fey gave Saryuu a knowing smile.

"Well I'd like to know that I can trust you to take care of yourself. I'm not going to babysit you."

Fey rose an eyebrow at him challengingly, "I've used a variety of weapons. I'm more an all-rounder then anything, but give me a melee weapon and a rifle, and I'll be just fine. I've also handled molotov cocktails before, so you can trust me with explosive type weapons too. Hmmm, but I don't babysit either. You're not the only one who's worried about being slowed down."

Saryuu gave him a dry smile in return to the comment, though he admitted to himself without actually stating such that he was impressed.

"Go ahead. Ask me another one."

"You really like these questions, don't you?" Saryuu smiled, though it wasn't one of his insulting or sarcastic sort of looks. He liked to talk, and having somebody around who didn't mind that... He couldn't remember the last time somebody had given him the inner strength to manage a real smile. "Fine, but after this, I'm taking you back to bed. It's incredibly late, and you need to rest. I'm shocked you're even up." It took him a few moments of thinking before he asked curiously, having come up with a question for the boy, "Describe what you think of me in five words."

The greenette smiled slyly at that, and Saryuu smirked in return, telling himself that he should have known not to expect a sincere answer. "What I think? Well, I think you're sort of passive-aggressive ; a bit of a sarcastic jerk ; an asshole ; somewhat bossy ; stubborn ; moody; complicated." Fey paused, his sarcasm fading into something that appeared far more genuine as he added, his tone kind, "A saviour."

"That's more than five..." Saryuu frowned, "I was being serious, you know."

"Oh?" Fey tilted his head to the side innocently, "So was I." Despite that, his facial features betrayed him in the end, a wobbly smile striking his lips as he tried to keep from laughing.

"You're so ungrateful," Saryuu mocked upset, peering into his lap as he thought about getting up and taking Fey to bed now that he'd asked his last question. But at the thought that it was over, the moment they'd shared suddenly seemed to truly sink in. He processed just how precious moments like these were. He didn't ever know when it would be his last. His eyes drifting back up to the sky, he asked quietly, "Is it okay if I ask you just one more question? I promise this will be the last one."

Fey nodded his head, his eyes blinking over at the other as they seemed to gently regard the delicate tone of Saryuu's voice.

"Why did you fight to stay here?" he asked, his gaze unable to break away from the sight of the dark sky as he held his breath, awaiting Fey's answer. He was almost scared to try and locate any sort of reaction that flickered upon the greenette's face. "You keep saying that I'm your saviour, but that doesn't mean anything in this world. You hardly know a thing about me. I could be a psychotic freak who hopes to do all sorts of horrible things to you. The Infection isn't the only thing out there that effects the brain and makes one crazy... Why devote yourself to somebody you hardly even know when you may not even live to see the next morning? Why not just live for yourself?"

Saryuu's lips pressed together into a tight line as his question neared it's end. He couldn't keep from feeling that he'd said too much. Had he seemed too personal? Too emotional? It wasn't often that he displayed his feelings. He'd always been stubborn that way.

"How is what you did any different?" Fey shuffled closer, angling his head in a way that allowed for him to peer up into Saryuu's eyes considering they wouldn't turn to meet his own. A sense of warmth glowed from those minty pools as Saryuu reluctantly met their gaze, taking in the small smile on the boy's lips. "I'm a complete stranger too, and yet you decided to use _**your **_medical supplies to safe my life. You decided to risk _**your **_very own life just to bring me here. Yeah, maybe there are psychos out there. But I could've been one too. I could've been pretending to be hurt, and then jump you when you least expected it. Besides, I'm not going to worry whether I'll be around to live my life the next day or not, because I already made a promise that I'm not gonna die."

His smile twitched, appearing more reassuring at that last bit.

"Fey..." Saryuu merely found himself murmuring the boy's name, taken aback as he remained locked within those welcoming eyes. How had he been so lucky? How had he found something to believe in after hopelessness had engulfed him in it's torment so long ago?

Fey smiled sweetly. "Come on, Saru. Let's go to bed then. You look exhausted."

Saryuu stood from the table, stretching before bending back down to take Fey into his arms. The boy seemed to cuddle into his chest, pressing his hands towards it in an attempt to warm up. The winter air was cold, especially when it was so dark.

As Saryuu approached the basement door, he found himself glancing down at the top of Fey's head, his strands of hair shining dimly in the moonlight.

Narrowing violet eyes, he had decided. He couldn't lose another person. He couldn't lose Fey.

He wouldn't let death win this time. Not this round.

* * *

_Note: _

**The Fireflies: **_An anti-government miltia group. They are fighting a losing war against the military, whom they view as tyrants. They are spread throughout the country, and are one of the few organized groups still searching for a vaccine for the Cordyceps brain infection. Members carry pendants engraved with the group's symbol, and then their name on the opposing side. _

**FEDRA: **_The Federal Disaster Response Agency is the last remnant of the pre-outbreak government. Post-Outbreak, they took control of the Armed Forces and declared martial law, removing all other government departments from power. FEDRA became a military dictatorship, exercising absolute power over the quarantine zones, which prompted the creation of the Fireflies._

**Hunters: **_Hunters are hostile survivors who have the tendency to kill anyone entering their territory in order to steal their clothes, supplies, and food._

**Tourists: **_A term used by Hunters which refers to those who enter their territory. __  
_

**Bandits: **_Bandits raid areas inhabited by other survivors. Unlike Hunters, bandits are known to have a leader, and are also more independent, free-roaming hostile survivors. _

**The Infected: **_Cordyceps brain infection (or CBI) is a parasitic fungus devastating mankind. Nearly 60% of humanity has been either killed or infected by the Cordyceps fungus._

_The fungus infects the human brain, growing inside the brain tissue and killing the brain's cells. This erases the host's memories and drives them insane, modifying their instincts to seek no goal other than spreading the spores to others. Eventually, the fungus will indeed kill it's host and the host's body will release infectious spores. These spores thrive in enclosed spaces, and are unable to spread through open air areas. The Infection can also be spread through bites from living hosts._

**Quarantine Zone: **_In order to contain the Fungus, FEDRA had the military move all uninfected civilians into large quarantine zones. FEDRA and the Military struggle to maintain control of the various quarantine zones due to a combination of the authoritarian government, growing food shortages, Firefly attacks, and further Cordyceps brain infection outbreaks._

_Those who are clear of infection are ordered by martial law to reside within a quarantine zone. They execute anyone suspected of infection on sight._

* * *

**I thought I'd leave a note of the different groups of survivors and such, just for those of you who aren't familiar with the game! I hope you enjoyed reading, and I'd love it if you left a review! Thank you! =) **


	2. Update?

**Hello dear Readers~ **

**I was just wondering if anybody was interested in this story? It's a bit discouraging that it's had absolutely no favourites, reviews, or even follows. As a fellow reader, I know that it's always easiest to just read and then leave, because thinking up something to say is too much effort lol. But seriously - I just want to know that people are even interested in this at all. Even if you just leave a one-word review like, 'awesome' or 'good'... Or even pull me an Alpha and leave me a 'yes.' It'd make me happy just to know that there are people out there who are enjoying my writing. **

**I really hope that this doesn't make me sound pompous or anything like that... I just really don't like to be left wondering whether people would even bother if I updated. **


	3. Ch2 Fleeting

**Hello! First off, thanks so much for all of your lovely reviews! ;A; I didn't even think that there would be as many of you as there are who were interested! So thank you! It's made me so, so, _so_ happy! **

**WARNING: Strong Language, Violence, Blood & Gore, Alcohol, Minor Torture, Sex, and Death.**

**Oh, and all the sexual tension~ ;) **

**I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Two – Fleeting**

* * *

_May 2032 (SPRING)_

* * *

He swallowed thickly, the blade's pressure increasing as it dug into the porcelain skin of his throat. His breath caught in his chest, and the sound of his heartbeat rang in his ears as he could feel Saryuu smirk against his earlobe.

"Come now, Fey," he hummed into the boy's ear, which in turn sent a shiver down the green haired boy's spine, "Don't be foolish."

Fey could feel it as Saryuu's other hand tightened around his hip.

"You haven't killed me yet. This isn't over," Fey barely breathed, feeling as a bead of sweat trailed across his face, "You're always so arrogant."

Saryuu sighed sweetly, his breath warm against the back of Fey's neck. "Oh, well regardless, what do you say we stop with the games and get down to business? This has gone on long enough, wouldn't you agree?"

"I'm not going anywhere. Not until this is over."

"Ah, but did you not promise to stay by my side? You don't have a choice. We're leaving," the snowy haired boy commanded in an enticing whisper.

Fey didn't seem so enticed, however, considering he chuckled darkly in response, the vibrations pressing his skin uncomfortably closer to the blade of Saryuu's crafted shiv. "I already said that I'm not done yet."

Before Saryuu could respond, he was startled as the green haired ex-Firefly jabbed an elbow into his side, disrupting his balance. His arm swung backwards in an unintentional, immediate response, drawing the blade across Fey's throat in a shallow cut. Blood was drawn, flowing towards Fey's collar bone in a thin, crimson trail. But that didn't slow him down as he worked at spinning himself around when Saryuu's hold on him was weakened.

Before Saryuu had the chance to recollect himself at the unexpected blow, Fey leaped at him, an action that knocked the both of them to the library floor. The green haired ex-Firefly pinned Saryuu underneath him, the barrel of his hunting rifle aimed right at his flustered face before the violet eyed survivor could even blink and process what had just happened.

"You couldn't kill me, and that's where you went wrong," Fey's mint tinged eyes narrowed in anticipation of what he was about to do, his finger squeezing around the trigger.

Saryuu lay underneath him, stunned, though was swift to snap out of it. His fluttering, royal purple orbs narrowed, a dangerous glint forming within their depths as his eyebrows drew together in anger and his hands shot up and smacked the gun barrel from his face. "I could've slit your throat, you idiot!"

Fey eased up on his form, securing his hunting rifle back onto his backpack and sitting up straighter against Saryuu's frame. "Yeah, you could have," he could feel the rush of adrenaline begin to die as he peered down into Saryuu's unusually distressed face, "But I trusted that you wouldn't. Besides..." Not even the mixed look of both worry and outrage in the depths of those violet eyes could keep the victorious grin from Fey's face as he extended an arm out and began to trace a lone finger across the surface of Saryuu's goggles. "It looks like I win. So the beach it is."

His facial features softened. "Shut up..." Saryuu's tone didn't sound harsh, but quiet as he pushed the boy's porcelain arm away, bringing his own tanned hand over to Fey's neck. He ran his fingers along it's smooth surface, small amounts of fresh blood smearing their tips. "...You're bleeding. You're too reckless, Fey. If that had been a real fight, you could have ended up very much dead, you know that? Trying to escape a knife to the neck is suicidal."

"I'm fine. It's hardly even a scratch. Besides, don't be so uptight. It wasn't a real fight. Just a competition," Fey's flirtatious (Saryuu swore it was so) gaze lingered for a few moments before he picked himself up from where he sat on the snowy haired boy, offering a hand to him once steadily on his feet.

Saryuu considered refusing the hand before him, though reluctantly clasped onto it and picked himself up off the floor, crossing his arms over his chest as a frown found it's way to his lips. He was far more than displeased with the entire situation, unable to do anything but feel sour about it.

It had all started when they'd been exploring the town they'd recently made it to. They'd been on the move since Spring had started, considering Fey's wound had long since healed. All that remained of it was a jagged, dark pink scar that ran along the pale skin of his side.

They'd come across worn signs, bent and deteriorating though continuing to label specific streets and which sorts of facilities were in which direction. Having passed a sign labelled 'beach' on the way to the library that they currently resided within in a desperate attempt at gathering some more supplies, Fey had basically begged and pleaded for the two of them to make that their next visited location.

Saryuu had denied, suggesting they check the airport instead, as it would be far more likely to provide them with valuable finds. He simply couldn't agree with Fey's desire to go to the beach simply for the beautiful scenery that it would provide them with. Scenery was nice and all, but it couldn't help them survive. It wouldn't feed them, nor load their guns with the ammunition in which they were lacking.

It wasn't until they had reached the library, searching it, that Fey had proclaimed they 'stealth fight' one another in order to come to an agreement. Fey would count to a specified number as Saryuu wandered off to take cover where he pleased. Whoever managed to 'kill' the other first, won. If Fey won, then they would go to the beach, and if Saryuu won, then he'd have his way and their next location would indeed be that of the abandoned airport.

What made Fey's victory all the more frustrating for Saryuu (asides from him being a tad bit of a sore loser), however, was that he'd planned to take Fey to the beach, regardless, as a surprise long before the greenette had even realized there was a beach in the current town they'd found themselves within. He'd hoped to get him down there for when the sun set into the ocean, it's gently swaying surface sparkling vividly as it was gently caressed by the orange sky. He wasn't sure if Fey had ever witnessed anything like it, and so he'd looked forward to surprising him.

So much for that... He'd been so confident that he would win, too...

"Let's just sweep the remainder of the library first, and then we'll go to the beach," Saryuu grumbled, reclaiming the shiv that had slipped from his hand during their struggle. A smidge of crimson coated it's point. He turned away from the other, preparing to search through the cluttered library. A few shelves had tumbled over at some point or another, spilling several books onto the floor. Torn pages also lay at their feet, as well as garbage and other useless materials. His back turned, Saryuu coldly added, "Clean up your neck, would you?"

Fey cocked his head at him, placing a hand on his hip as haughty, minty eyes seemed to burn into the survivor's turned back. Saryuu could hear the mocking traces of victory in Fey's tone when he spoke. "So, what? You're gonna be miffed with me now?" Saryuu's lips pressed more tightly together at the sound of Fey's approaching footsteps. The boy seemed to be prying something out of the depths of his bag as he walked forward, nudging the item into Saryuu's shoulder before dangling it before him once he reached his side.

Saryuu blinked at the bottle of tequila grasped between Fey's fingers, raising an eyebrow questionably. "Tequila?" he said flatly, "What? Am I supposed to make a molotov out of it and burn myself alive, along with my sorrows, Fey?"

"Ha-ha," the ex-Firefly mocked a laugh, "You _**really **_don't take losses well, huh?" His previous tone faded after he paused, developing into a sound that seemed far more thoughtful once he continued, "I found it on one of our explorations a few days back, and I _had _been saving it for crafting into a weapon, but it looks like you might need some. We can drink it together at the beach. It isn't often that we get to do that."

Alcohol, especially a bottle that had been left untouched, was a rare find. And normally when they did happen to stumble across hard liquor, it would be used towards creating the explosive molotov cocktails that were so very effective against hordes of Infected, primarily the deadly Clickers.

Hesitant eyes flickered towards Fey's eager ones. He didn't want to seem as if he were trying to rain on Fey's parade or anything, but his stubbornness permitted him from explaining the main source of his displeasure. It would only make Fey feel bad, and quite frankly, he didn't want to hear Fey's apologies over having blown the surprise.

"Then I suppose it's a date," Saryuu said, eyebrows raised as an uneven smile played on his lips. His tone sounded lighter in his attempt to bury his discouragement. He didn't want Fey to believe that his sourness had been solely caused by his own loss. He'd be lying if he tried to say that it didn't play a part at all, however.

Fey grinned as he shoved the tequila back into his backpack, swinging it back over his shoulder and into place once it was fastened up. "It'll be a lot more romantic than an airport," he teased, bumping Saryuu's side with his hip before jogging ahead of him.

Saryuu merely watched after him sheepishly as he disappeared behind a towering bookshelf, scoping out the remainder of the area. Saryuu did the same, having recalled seeing an undamaged rag and a pair of scissors at one point as they'd stalked one another during their clash of sorts.

"Saru," the snowy haired boy's head perked up at the distant call of his name as he inspected the floors and the old desks that lined the vast space. Graffiti, mangled books and broken computer monitors littered their surfaces, mostly. Fey must have wandered to the other side of the library, based on the volume of his voice. It always made Saryuu feel uneasy. What if something were to happen? How would he protect him, though he'd admitted long ago, that Fey was far more than capable of taking care of himself despite his previous reckless performance. "I think that this place might have been a base for a group of Hunters..."

Saryuu's eyes narrowed, "Oh? And what exactly feeds this theory, Fey?"

"There's an oil barrel over here. It's charred inside, so somebody was using it to keep warm. Plus, there's a few blunt weapons over here too." He paused before adding grimly. "No ammo, though."

"Dammit..." Saryuu muttered underneath his breath. They hadn't come across any ammunition for quite some time now. His pistol had maybe three shots left, while his shotgun had about 6. Fey's rifle was also at 6 shots, though he rarely used it – saving it only for tight situations. As distraught as it left Saryuu at times, Fey often tried to melee an enemy first. "Stay on your guard then. If what you suspect is true, then it's highly likely that we're not alone in this town. They may have simply relocated."

Fey's voice sounded closer as he spoke, which Saryuu quickly realized was more so then he'd realized when the green haired boy came out from behind a book shelf, joining Saryuu at his side. He noticed that Fey had acquired a lead pipe, which he had strapped onto the opposing side of his bag to his rifle. "What should we do?" he asked softly, tilting his head slightly as he placed a hand on Saryuu's arm. "Should we forget about the beach and work at getting out of this town?"

"Have you ever seen a beach before?" was Saryuu's gentle response.

Fey's facial features tensed, "No... But it isn't worth it."

"Who knows when we'll be down by the coast again," the survivor withdrew from Fey's touch, adjusting the goggles that rested in his snow white head of hair before moving onto adjusting the way his bag sat on his back as he prepared to leave the library. "Besides, no place is safe. When it's not Hunters, there's Infected. Or FEDRA. Bandits. Even cannibals. If you're too scared to face a little danger, than you best seek shelter in one of the quarantine zones."

"I was a Firefly, remember? I'd rather die then live in their enforced cities. They're so corrupt..." he gave Saryuu a curious glimpse as he followed after him, any bitterness dissolving from his tone as he asked, "_I_ have obvious reasons to dislike them, but have _you_ ever thought about living in a quarantine zone?"

Saryuu wasn't sure if Fey's acidity was stemmed from maybe being raised a Firefly his entire life, or if maybe FEDRA had done something to him to encourage him to join the firefly's fight in the first place. But he didn't bother to ask. They still hadn't touched the topic of their personal matters, just yet. They'd become close for survivors who had only met a few months ago, but Saryuu wouldn't have complained if they didn't ever open up about personal feelings and experiences. Just having a living being around who was warm when they touched, and who responded to him when he spoke was comforting enough on it's own.

"No," Saryuu didn't turn back to look at him as he spoke coolly, emerging from the library and out into the sun, which brightly lit the streets. The air was refreshing, tinged with salt from the nearby ocean as the breeze gently played with his lightly coloured strands of hair. The jagged pieces that framed his face tickled at his cheeks as they gently caressed their tanned surface. "I've always been able to take care of myself. I never needed their protection."

With squinted eyes, he surveyed the eerily peaceful space around them, searching for any hints that the town was occupied by other survivors, possibly Hunters or other types of hostiles. Fey seemed to be doing the same, his shoulders partially hunched and tense as he tried to listen out for any noise past the loud cries of the seagulls.

"I'm pretty sure you weren't born a badass," Fey laughed lightly as he eased out of his cautious form, practically skipping down the stone steps and heading for the road. Bright green vegetation had begun to protrude from cracks in the concrete, and deep puddles had formed in various areas due to the heavy rainfalls they'd endured back in April. Fey seemed excited about seeing the ocean, despite his concerns. "You must have needed protection at some point."

Saryuu walked after him, brushing the statement aside with his lack of response.

Fey glanced back at him, pressing his lips together, though respected that he'd chosen not to comment on it. He fell back, matching Saryuu's pace and walking at his side as they made their way to the nearby beach. The coastline was in view, and Fey found himself automatically beaming at it's appearance as they drew ever closer.

Saryuu found himself glancing over at the boy who seemed to very well glow, silence having fallen on them after he'd refused to reply. But there was nothing awkward about it. If anything, it was almost nice. Fey didn't seem insulted in any way either, merely looking back and fourth between the approaching beach and Saryuu's watchful eyes. Fey's own orbs would smile at him warmly whenever they met.

"So..." Despite the comfort he found in it, Saryuu couldn't restrain himself from breaking the muteness – not after Fey had looked at him like that. "You've _never _been to the ocean before?"

Fey shook his head, seeming to close a gap of space between them considering Saryuu swore he was walking even closer then before, "If I have, I don't remember it."

"Assuming it will be rather barren, asides from the two of us, what do you say we stay overnight?" Saryuu offered. If Fey was thrilled at the thought, then just maybe it made up for the fact that his surprise had been ruined. "I bet the stars will appear quite charming on the beach at night."

When they weren't on the move, stargazing was something they both enjoyed doing together before they drifted off into sleep. It had been that way since the very first time they had basked in the moonlight on the same day as their fated meeting.

"Aww, are you trying to apologize for the tantrum you threw after I beat you?" Fey gave him a teasing look, "That's cute, Saru."

"I'm being serious, you know," Saryuu pressed his lips together, his tone dry, "Besides, I did _not _have a tantrum. You're overreacting."

Fey laughed, "Maybe, but _you_ can't take a joke. C'mon, you know I'm just kidding. But in all seriousness, where would we sleep? You'd just lay out on the sand with me?" He seemed to search Saryuu's face hopefully.

Saryuu scanned the beach, his military boots sinking into the sand as they crossed the border of grass. Further along the shore, he noticed a stranded boat, it's hull having been dragged up onto the beach. "We can always search that boat over there," Saryuu noted, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand as he peered over at it. "It might be habitable, at least for just the night. But we're going to have to scope out the beach first. I'd like to ensure that there aren't any Infected around. Or those Hunters."

But his words seemed to travel far over Fey's head as the green haired boy gaped at the ocean with eyes that sparkled back at it, it's waves gentle as they churned along the shore. He rubbed his shoes through the sand, seeming to test it's unusual, grainy texture.

It was far duller than what he'd seen in magazines, but there was still something so incredibly soothing about it, eeriness aside.

"Isn't it beautiful?" he murmured, mesmerized eyes flickering to Saryuu.

Saryuu's lips quirked up at the corners as he placed a hand around Fey's waist, coaxing him forward until he believed that they were close enough to the water before guiding him down onto the sand next to him, their shoulders brushing. "I'm pleased that you like it."

Fey traced a finger in the sand, testing it against his fingertips next. The curious look written on his face was deemed cute by his snowy haired partner. Whether he'd been with the Fireflies or not, Saryuu had concluded that Fey had been sheltered, or something along those lines at least, considering there seemed to be oh so many sights he hadn't witnessed until joining up with Saryuu. When his facial features glistened with such innocent curiosity, he almost actually appeared his age, and to the survivor, that was precious.

"You said you wanted to stay here overnight, right? Should we do some exploring before we get comfortable?" Fey inhaled sweetly, seeming to enjoy the damp, salty air before his spearmint coloured gaze blinked back to Saryuu, almost shyly. Saryuu couldn't comprehend the cause.

Saryuu shook his head, crossing his legs and splaying his hands into the sand behind him as he reclined slightly, a way of indicating that he was already comfortable. "I'd say that drink sounds quite fetching right about now. We'll search the beach afterwards, though searching that boat over there will take priority. We'll determine whether we can use it as shelter until the morning."

"Sure, but it's pretty strong stuff, you know." Fey shrugged his bag from his shoulders, letting it fall onto the sand before dragging it over to his side and fishing inside of it for the bottle of tequila that he had promised Saryuu before. "We can't go getting buzzed."

Saryuu laughed, a pleasantly crisp sound. "Where did your playful side go, Fey? Don't get all serious on me. Besides, that one other time we did this, were you not intoxicated after two shots?"

Fey gave him a knowing look, "Oh, so that's how you remember it. Saru, you were drunk before me..."

Saryuu shrugged, unable to clearly recall. "Regardless, one shot should be fine. Maybe two."

He reached for the bottle that Fey had retrieved from his bag, but Fey smirked and tugged the bottle away from Saryuu's fingers before prying the lid off. "I think those who can _actually_ hold their liquor, and not just claim that they can, should go first."

"You jerk," Saryuu didn't appear the least bit upset despite his words, simply teasing, "Fireflies must have some crazy parties for you to seem so accustomed to this sort of thing."

Fey merely laughed before he took a deep breath, tilting his head back and then pouring a stream of tequila into his mouth. His throat burned at the hard liquor's touch and he couldn't keep from coughing afterwards, a mix of a sheepish laugh in there somewhere as he choked on his words, "Jeez, that's enough for me."

He passed the bottle to Saryuu, who repeated the process.

They continued to do so a few more times, though took smaller sips rather than indulge in 'downing' it shot style.

Fey set the bottle down at his feet, sighing sweetly as he brought his legs to his chest and laid his chin against their kneecaps. His throat continued to burn, but being able to stare out at the ocean and spend time with Saryuu like this was such a treat... He'd cherish it.

Reluctantly, Fey leaned into Saryuu's nearby frame, resting his head against the surface of the snowy haired boy's shoulder. Maybe his heart felt so warm and fluttery right then, almost as if it were about to melt, because of the setting. Or maybe he'd drank too much. Maybe it was a combination of the both of them, but either way, he smiled lightly as he could feel Saryuu's hand at the back of his head, gently caressing the tips of his flippy hair.

"Fey," the gentle tone of Saryuu's voice as he breathed into his green strands of hair only made Fey's heart feel all the more gooey. "Lift your head for a second."

Fey obeyed, uncertain eyes searching Saryuu's face as he withdrew from the comfort of Saryuu's shoulder. He watched as the white haired boy stood, leaving his spot next to Fey as he dragged his bag to the water's edge. He dug something up from the depths of his backpack, soaking it into the water that would continuously flow backwards and forward as if kissing the sand.

He returned to Fey's side, placing his bag beside him as he held onto the object he had submerged into the cold, salty water. It appeared it'd been the cloth he'd obtained at the library. He extended it towards Fey, carefully dabbing it along the boy's porcelain throat.

The ex-Firefly flinched at the way it stung at first, a quiet gasp coming from his lips before he relaxed into it, flattered that Saryuu had even remembered the cut along his neck.

"T-thanks," Fey smiled.

"Don't thank me," the look on Saryuu's face nearly reminded Fey of the time Saryuu had saved his life. He'd been so absorbed and focused as he'd tended to him. "I'm the one who inflicted it, after all. It's the least I can do."

Fey tilted his head slightly, his facial expression growing warmer – more reassuring. "It's just a scratch. I can more than handle it. It was a play fight, Saru. I'm pretty sure that I left you with bruises and such myself."

"Correct, but you didn't make me bleed..."

"You're too sensitive. More than you show," Fey raised a hand to cup Saryuu's cheek, ensuring that he look him in the eyes as he spoke softly, "But I _did _hit you kind of hard. For that, I'm sorry too."

Saryuu gave him the faintest smile (it showed mostly in the violet depths of his eyes), finishing up with the dry blood and the shallow cut on Fey's skin. He withdrew, standing back up onto his feet and swinging his bag back over his shoulders. His head felt a little lighter than usual, and it was more than obvious to him by the paired warm feeling that he was nothing more than buzzed on alcohol. He could still hold his own, if it came down to it, however. He wasn't drunk – not even tipsy – and his coordination and such seemed perfectly fine.

He offered a hand out to Fey, the other hand resting on his hip, "Come on, let's look around. We can chitchat some more as we walk along the beach. Charming, no?"

Fey had drank slightly more than him though, and rather than being buzzed, he seemed more so tipsy. He could see it in him when he stood. It was only a slight difference, but Saryuu had been around him long enough to pick up on it.

It didn't seem he was in denial over it, either, his eyes fluttering as he grasped onto Saryuu's tanned hands and picked himself up from the sand. If he was feeling any dizziness, he was quick to shake it off. "I think I had more to drink than I intended," he chuckled, though it was obvious that he'd been sure to monitor it well enough to ensure he was battle ready. Saryuu gave him a double-take, concluding that he was just fine.

"You wanted to start with the boat?" Fey asked as they began to walk along the beach towards it. Their hands had remained linked for a few lingering moments, even as they'd begun to walk, though Fey withdrew his fingertips where they loosely curled around Saryuu's own fingertips. Instead they gripped at the straps of his own backpack.

Almost as if they'd been left feeling empty, Saryuu's own hands began to fidget with the black and purple goggles that rested over his head. "There might be some useful supplies on-board. We may hopefully be able to stay there tonight, even."

Though that would all depend on whether the area was deemed dangerous or not. If the area was prestigious for hordes of Infected or even the group of Hunters who were suspected to have occupied the town, then Saryuu would prefer to leave, whether he'd promised Fey a night out on the beach or not. Regardless they would take turns staying awake throughout the night, so that one of them was always conscious and guarding the other.

Fey and Saryuu approached the wrecked boat with caution, each readying their weapon of choice before boarding. The rotting teak wood of the beached cabin cruiser creaked underneath Saryuu's boots, which caused him to grimace.

Fey approached the cabin first, his fingers tight around his lead pipe as he nudged the cabin door open. He eased up on his form when he took in the room's emptiness. Saryuu lowered his pistol, sighing when he realized that it had appeared that somebody else had already raided it of supplies considering it was rather barren with the exception of the crammed furniture and the two skeletal corpses that rested on the surface of the lounging area.

With a frown, Fey clipped the lead pipe back onto his pack and then moved towards the two bodies. He knelt before them, delicate hands working at searching their clothes for anything that could have been useful to them. Instead, all he managed to acquire from them was a photo of a couple, hand-in-hand and garnished in the most gorgeous clothes Fey had ever seen before.

He recalled the picture his papa had always carried on him. The woman in it, who had been Fey's mother as well as his papa's wife at the time, had been dressed similarly. They were the ceremonial clothes of the old world. The ones worn during a couple's wedding.

"They were married," Fey's eyes flicked up from the picture and to the two corpses, his eyes melancholy, "That's just too sad..."

A solemn sigh escaped Saryuu's lips, and Fey had trouble interpreting whether it was his way of displaying his sympathy for the couple, or whether he was flaunting his disapproval at the way Fey regarded the dead, even after all they had already come to witness. A cold heart was required for survival when enclosed in such brutality.

As a Firefly, Fey had come to witness plenty of death, but he had never ever grown accustomed to it. He didn't want an icy heart. Or at least, not one that was completely so. Only partially. Enough to keep his kindness from becoming an obvious weakness. Considering Saryuu had cared enough to save his life, he was borderline himself.

Respect or not, however, Fey didn't wish to sleep in the same room as them...

"So, um, what should we do wi-"

Saryuu cut him off in a harsh whisper suddenly, his posture tensing and his hand automatically reaching for his pistol, "Shut up! Did you hear that!? Someone's here!"

Fey's eyes widened as he fell silent, clenching his jaw as his heart came to a stand-still in his chest. He held his breath, only releasing it when a strangled cry forced it's way between his lips and his eyes clouded with horror before automatically squeezing shut at the deafening shriek of broken glass that exploded around them.

He ducked to the floor, covering his eyes and face as glass pieces from the broken window darted through the air, clattering against the floor.

Saryuu dashed to his side after swiftly recollecting his own self, "Are you okay?" he frantically asked in a hushed voice, violet orbs sharp with confirmation of his readiness for battle.

Fey nodded at him, reassurance bright in his eyes as he withdrew from Saryuu's touch. "Are they armed?" He crept towards the window, taking his hunting rifle from where it was attached to the side of his bag and into his hands. "What the hell did they use to break the window?"

"No, I didn't hear a gunsho-"

Fey quickly realized the answer to his question, screaming for Saryuu to get down before dropping back to the floor, his hunting rifle underneath him. He'd felt the object whirl inches from his face before hitting the ground, though the blood in his veins didn't go cold until he heard Saryuu's pained cry. Fey's heart stopped beating altogether when he noticed the crimson red blood that stained Saryuu's pure white hair, while also gushing down his face profusely.

Saryuu had readied his pistol, hoping to catch a glimpse of the hostiles who had staged the surprise attack from the broken window. But they went undetected, deeming it impossible for him to take a shot.

And that was when the brick had struck him against the side of the head.

His vision blurred, fuzzing black as his world began to spin. His ears rang, but he could hear the distant cries that came from Fey as he called out his name frantically.

_'Saru! Saru, oh god!' _

He removed the hands that'd been clutching onto his head, peering down at them and taking in red stained palms with blurred vision.

_'Crap! Crap! Saru! Can you hear me!? Please, tell me that you're okay! Saru! Take cover for now! I'll be right back! I'm gonna kill them, and then I'll be back for you! I promise!' _

But the voices faded as he fell to the floor with a thud, swallowed by the cold, obscure shadows of unconsciousness.

* * *

He awoke to rage and distraught screams.

_'No! Leave him alone!'_

Fey...?

_'If you touch him, I'll kill you!' _

Saryuu's eyelids quivered as he came to, groaning quietly at the way his head throbbed. It was a pain that seemed to spread to all of his facial features, his fluttering eyes aching as nausea settled within the pit of his stomach.

When his eyes finally opened, they squeezed back shut at the intensity of the sunlight that filtered in through the nearby window. His vision was incredibly blurred, and his mind was sluggish as he tried to process what had happened and where he was.

He realized he was sitting up in a chair, and tried to move his hands. His head stung at the clanking sound that followed, and he groggily tried again, slowly grasping onto the fact that his wrists were not capable of fulfilling the motion commanded of them, as they were clasped in metallic chains.

He struggled against them, his thoughts still hazy and his entire body plagued with dizziness. But if there one thing he did know, it was that he was in a dire situation and that he needed to escape.

"Fey?" he called out his partner's name, his confusion evident in his voice as he fuzzily took in the form of the green haired ex-Firefly. Unlike Saryuu, he sat on the wooden tiled floor, his arms forced behind his back and chained to the leg of a nearby table at the wrists.

Their backpacks were located at the room's corner, and Saryuu took in the form of an unfamiliar survivor who stood close by. Two others occupied the room, also. One standing closer to Fey, as the other stood directly behind the chair he'd been imprisoned within.

He turned his head, having sensed them looming over him.

"Saru!" Fey's earlier animosity faded the moment he realized that Saryuu had come to, his full attention redirected at the one he cared and worried so desperately for, "Saru, are you alright!?" Though bitterness was swift to flash back into his eyes when the could-be Hunter walked around Saryuu's chair, indifference towards Fey's pleas written on his face. "Get away from him! He's hurt! Torture me instead!"

Torture?

Saryuu blinked, noticing that the boy with the wavy, dull brown hair who circled his chair held a switch blade tightly in his hand. He ran it's blade's edge along the skin of Saryuu's arm tauntingly, though everything about him remained cold.

Saryuu still couldn't recall what had led up to this, but the pained look in Fey's eyes was enough to encourage him to take action, regardless. "You want to torture me, do you?" he laughed, a dark sound paired with a following sardonic smile. "Do you have questions for me, or is this the sort of thing you bastards do to pass the time? If you're such big, bad Hunters, then should I not be dead by now?"

Fey shook his head from side to side fiercely, his eyebrows furrowed in a display of his desperate desire to protect his partner. Saryuu's heart clenched at the faintest trace of tears that glistened in those wild, minty orbs, though the snowy haired boy's heartache refused to show on his face. He'd do whatever he could to ensure Fey's safety.

"No, Saru, they think _we're _the Hunters!" Fey cried, his voice cracking, "They want to torture you because they don't believe me! We have to convince them! Please, I can't -"

A second 'Hunter' or whoever – the dark haired one who stood close to Fey – hit him across the face with the plastic handle of his hatchet, silencing him. Fey lurched to the side at the force of the swing, though his binds kept him from falling to the floor completely. The chains dug into his wrists sharply, and he just barely whimpered before attempting to shift into a more comfortable position. Saryuu spotted the visible redness on his porcelain cheek, and it was more than obvious that it would eventually develop into a big, purple bruise.

Saryuu scowled, violet eyes sharp and narrow. Oh, if only they could cut into flesh.

"Leave him out of this!" he tried to sound defying despite his clear lack of power towards the entire situation. "I don't know what that makes you, but we're not Hunters either. We were just passing through this town. But if you want to torture me, then go ahead. Though I promise you each that you'll heavily regret it."

The third and last 'Hunter,' a boy with cinnamon coloured hair, finally spoke. Unlike the other two, his facial expression twisted into something that could almost be interpreted as sympathy. "I think that maybe we should believe them... They seem to be telling the truth. Torturing them is a bit harsh, wouldn't you say? I don't think they're Hunters..."

"Naivety is what gets other people killed, Tenma," the dark haired one shot him down rather sharply.

"If we're the Hunters, then who the hell does that make you people?" Fey snapped, earning himself a second smack to the face.

"I swear, if you fucking hit him one more time..." Saryuu warned, his tone a harsh whisper.

The wavy haired one plunged his switch blade into the back of Saryuu's hands at that, bringing fourth a pained scream as every muscle in his body contracted and an excruciating wave of pain shot through him. He could feel it as the blade's edge tore through skin and nerves, until finally it was removed. His skin seemed to throb, the pain unbearable, even still. It hadn't gone completely through, but there was enough blood bubbling from the wound to restore and worsen his previous dizziness.

"SARU!" Fey jerked forward, wrestling against his chains with a powerful sense of urgency overcoming him and sending him into a berserk state. It didn't matter that the chains cut into his wrists, or that he had no hope in hell of escaping their confinement. All that mattered was that Saryuu's screams had sent him off the edge. He needed to do whatever it took to help him... His saviour. "Get away from him! Don't you dare touch him! I'll -"

Saryuu's hoarse voice cut him off, a smirk playing on his lips as he tried to keep them from quivering at the way his hand burned to the point where it was nearly unbearable. "Calm down, Fey... I'm fine," he craned his neck so that he could peer up into the wavy haired boy's detached face. "Are you satisfied?"

"No," the wavy haired boy spoke for the first time, everything about him unchanging, "You're going to tell us _every _little detail about your base. You're going to tell us about the supplies you have stashed inside, as well as how many other Hunters there are."

The cinnamon haired one, Tenma, intervened, his tone more insistent. "I really don't think they're with the Hunters..."

"We're not," Saryuu spoke coolly, though it was an insanely difficult process for him to keep his voice smooth, "We're with the Fireflies. Don't believe me? Check Fey's pendant. It should be around his neck."

The two who believed them to be Hunters narrowed their eyes speculatively, clearly doubtful.

Fey rose his head to meet Saryuu's eyes at the statement, their depths lighting up in realization. His Firefly pendant had been tucked underneath his shirt, it's chain the only part of it visible as it hugged around his neck. How had he not thought to display it to them? Sure, it wasn't as if he was a Firefly currently. But they didn't need to know that. Even with a possible concussion, and after enduring torturous amounts of pain, Saryuu had thought to use Fey's past to their advantage.

If only he'd thought of it, then maybe Saryuu wouldn't have had to experience their savage treatment. But he frowned, realizing that he'd been far too blinded by his worries and fears for the other, which had become embodied within his outrage towards those endangering him...

The dark haired boy was the one to approach Fey considering he was closest to him. He knelt down on one knee, giving him the sort of piercing look that told him not to try anything funny. But Fey behaved, meeting the other's golden orbs with a cold glower.

He pressed his lips together, his brow twitching faintly as he could feel the the dark haired one's fingers snake around his pendant, pulling it up from where it'd been dipped into his red and white, three-quarter sleeved shirt.

"I think they may be telling the truth..." he said, inspecting the distinct Fireflies symbol that'd been engraved onto the pendant's scratched up surface. He flipped it, taking in the greenette's name on the opposing side to the Fireflies emblem.

Saryuu's apparent torturer still did not seem so convinced, however, instead questioning the snowy haired survivor suspiciously, "Where's yours?"

He shrugged his shoulders in a quick, shallow motion, chuckling ironically, "I suppose I misplaced it."

"Isn't it enough to see _Fey's_ pendant?" Tenma asked hopefully. The casual use of his name brought him Fey's stare. He didn't word such, but Fey was insulted that somebody who was associated with the group who had brought harm upon Saryuu would even dare to speak his name as if they were friends. "It's obvious that he's a Firefly. We're not like the Hunters. We need to let them go, and to treat the one who is injured, Shindou."

Shindou, the wavy haired survivor, hesitated, "If we let you go, who's to say you won't try to kill us for what we did to you?"

Again, Saryuu shrugged, though more meekly then previous, "You don't."

"We're not like the Hunters, either," despite his lurking fury, Fey tried his utmost to encourage their freedom by proving a desire for peace among their two groups. If they would treat Saryuu's injuries, then forgiveness was a possibility. _Maybe. _"Clearly, we're all non-hostile survivors here. Maybe we can help each other out."

Shindou's gaze lingered on him for a long while, until finally he sighed, working at undoing the chains that'd been tied around the arms of the chair as well as Saryuu's wrists. Tenma wandered to his side, digging through his backpack until he pulled out a roll of bandages and a few items that could be used for stitching.

"I'll do it," Fey called from his spot on the floor, the dark haired survivor tending to him.

Once released, he restrained himself from jumping any of them in a fit of anger, instead stretching out his sore arms as he made his way to Saryuu's side.

Saryuu regarded his approach with a weak twitch of his lips that must have been a smile. "You okay?" he asked softly, lifting his uninjured arm from where he'd placed it in his lap as the other remained splayed on the chair's arm rest. As Fey knelt down to look into his eyes, Saryuu swept said hand through the greenette's bangs, his fingers hovering down the side of his face from there until a thumb just barely caressed the developing bruise on Fey's cheek.

"I should be asking you that," Fey frowned, gently pushing Saryuu's hand away as he inspected the snowy haired boy's many injuries. Saryuu's hand quivered where he left it, fresh blood continuing to stream from the torn skin. And then there was his head. That was what left Fey the most concerned. The blood that'd gushed from the injury had dried across the surface of his forehead and in thin streams across his face. His hair was also stained and matted, the red – duller than when it had first been spilled – striking against the white strands.

Tenma provided Fey with a chair, which they placed on an angle that enabled Fey to begin treating Saryuu's injuries. He began with Saryuu's hand, dabbing the area with cloth before preparing to apply stitches. "Now it's my turn to stitch you up," he murmured, bringing fourth a smile from the other.

"I'm really sorry for what we did to you..." Tenma stood next to Fey's chair, watching as he began to stitch Saryuu's hand up. "You can stay here for as long as you need to. Please, join us for dinner, even. It's the least we could do."

Shindou nodded his head in agreement, showing the faintest traces of regret for the first time. "Forgive us... We don't like to be wary of all we come across, but it's hard not to be paranoid these days."

Fey understood that much. He hadn't trusted Saryuu when the survivor had first stumbled upon him. He thought for sure that he would have left him for dead. But at the same time, their apologies hadn't dimmed the bitterness he felt at what they'd done, regardless of whether he would've done the same or not. He concluded that they most likely would have, but even so...

"Where are we anyway?" was Fey's only response, his tone calm.

Tenma's smile was friendly, though Fey didn't bother to look into the boy's face to notice, minty eyes focused entirely on Saryuu's hand. "We're in a town house. Asides from being raided of it's resources, it's in pretty good shape. It has three bedrooms, each with a bed and blankets. And don't worry, it's safe. The Hunters are staying on the other side of town," the cinnamon haired boy said helpfully.

Judging by the appearance, Fey concluded that they'd imprisoned them on the lower floor. In what had been a kitchen, it seemed.

"Thanks," Fey said coolly, quavering before he continued in the same tone and with the same, unchanging facial expression, "We can talk some more once I've finished here. Until then, could you leave me alone?"

"I'll start preparing the food," Shindou offered, "Tsurugi, sweep the area before the sun sets." The dark haired one nodded. "And Tenma, stay close by." Before heading out of the room, he lastly added, pointing towards one of the room's corners, "Fey, both your packs are over there if you need them."

With that, the three-man group dispersed. The only one lingering was Tenma, and though Fey could feel his curious eyes on him at times, the cinnamon haired boy respected his request to be left be. Fey completed the last of Saryuu's stitches in silence, moving onto Saryuu's head injury and possible concussion once wrapping Saryuu's hands up in a strip from the roll of bandages that Tenma had provided him with.

It was a good thing their group had enough medical supplies for Saryuu's treatment, considering Fey and Saryuu were lacking their own.

Saryuu pried his goggles from his blood-stained head in his attempt to make access to his head easier for Fey, noticing that a single crack ran across one of it's pale yellow lenses. He placed them into his lap.

Fey finally spoke again as he brushed a hand delicately through Saryuu's matted bangs, examining the blood that caked his forehead before dabbing a cloth over his face and cleaning him up. Saryuu flinched, his head continuing to ache, even still.

"Can you remember anything, Saru?" Fey asked softly as he continued to tend to his head injury.

Saryuu tried to recall, but it was all so hazy. He shrugged. "I feel fine, Fey."

"That wasn't the question... Do you remember what happened? What about the beach? Do you remember spending time with me there?" the ex-Firefly pressed.

Saryuu frowned, the confusion in the depths of his violet eyes enough evidence for Fey to obtain the answer to his question.

"We'll have to keep an eye on that..." The greenette's brow furrowed. It seemed maybe Saryuu really was suffering a concussion. Fey could only hope that rest would be enough for him... If the confusion persisted, or if the head injury was worse then he'd anticipated, Fey wasn't sure of what he could do for him. Medical resources were scarce enough as it was. Where would he get a hold of anything more advanced? The Fireflies would be able to help... They had members with experienced medical knowledge, and also had access to medical supplies that would be impossible to get a hold of otherwise.

But he couldn't go back...

"Make sure to rest, Saru... After we've had something to eat, I think it'd be best for you to go to sleep."

He'd planned on discussing what their next move would be from there with Saryuu, but it didn't seem they had a choice. Fey decided that it would be best for them to stay with Tenma's group of survivors for now. Saryuu would need the rest, and he didn't want him to push himself. He'd made the decision on his own. Saryuu didn't have a choice, partner or not.

"Fey..." Saryuu seemed to nuzzle into Fey's touch before clasping a hand around the boy's porcelain wrist, ceasing it's tender movements across his blood covered face, "Don't look at me like that. I'm fine. Over worrying yourself will get you killed."

Fey directed a teasing smile at him once Saryuu released his wrist and allowed for him to go back to tending to him. "Oh? You mean like how you concern _yourself_ with a mere bruise? Or a shallow cut on my neck?" He wasn't sure if he even recalled that last part, but he figured he'd get the gist of what he was saying, regardless.

Saryuu chuckled, "Are you calling me a hypocrite?"

"Don't think too hard about it," his smile broadened.

Tenma, who had made himself comfortable upon what must have been the kitchen table, didn't wish to interrupt, but he couldn't keep from noting thoughtfully, "You two seem close."

Fey's smile grew more sheepish at the comment, as Saryuu merely hummed in contentment.

Silence ensued a second time as Fey stood, making his way to the back of Saryuu's chair so that he could clean the wound itself. Saryuu flinched at the way it stung, and Fey watched as his tanned fingertips curled at the pain. The faintest whimper escaped his lips, and he pressed them together tightly, exhaling sharply through his nose.

Fey decided not to comment on it, as he'd long ago learned that Saryuu would snap that he was fine when questioned during onslaughts of pain. He hated to let it show, and it made him irritable when it did.

Once satisfied that he'd cleaned the wounded area to the best of his ability with their limited resources, Fey began to wrap the roll of dressing around Saryuu's head, winding it around a few times so that it was secure before tearing it and tucking the end piece in so that the entire thing wouldn't come undone.

Just as he'd begun to neatly place the other group's medical supplies onto the kitchen counter, Saryuu stood up dizzily to retrieve their bags. Fey opened his mouth to insist that he take it easy, but he suppressed himself as Shindou walked back into the room with enough cans of food for everybody, Tsurugi not far behind him. It appeared to be some type of canned pasta paired with tomato sauce, and Shindou had even taken the time to heat them over a fire, judging by the fact that they were warm.

Tenma greeted his partners cheerfully as they began to hand out the food, also providing them each with cutlery they'd apparently salvaged.

"Thanks," Fey's mouth twitched into the smallest smile as he accepted the food, returning to the chair he'd claimed when treating Saryuu. Saryuu joined him, laying their backpacks at their feet. He'd checked them to make sure that each of their supplies was still present.

Shindou smiled sheepishly in return – a look the two wouldn't have ever believed to see from him less than an hour ago. "It's not much. But food is food."

Tenma remained on the table's surface, patting the spot next to him in an attempt to coax Tsurugi next to him, it seemed. Two other kitchen chairs were scattered around said table, one of which being the seat that Shindou claimed for himself.

The atmosphere was awkwardly silent for the first passing moments, each of them taking cautious bites of their warm food. It seemed Tenma desired to break it, considering he would look up from his dinner, and silver eyes would look back and fourth between his own friends, and Fey and Saryuu. But the quiet was to be expected, as it was a tad bit strange for Saryuu and Fey to be treated to dinner by those who had recently held them prisoner. While on the other side, Shindou couldn't keep from feeling both regretful and ashamed of his lack in judgement.

"Umm," Tenma held his fork to his lips, eyes flickering to Fey, "This is probably way overdo. But I'm Matsukaze Tenma!"

"Hmm?" Fey peered up from his can of food curiously, processing what he'd said. It was more than obvious that they were most likely familiar with names by this point, but he figured that it was only proper to formally introduce themselves. "Oh, I'm Fey. Fey Lune. And this -"

"Saru," Saryuu finished for himself flatly.

Tenma didn't seem bothered with Saryuu's curtness, assuming the cinnamon haired boy had even picked up on it. H gestured to his dark haired partner who sat next to him. "This here's Tsurugi Kyousuke!"

"Tenma, I can introduce myself..." was Tsurugi's placid response.

"And I'm Shindou Takuto," Shindou finished, "I can't apologize enough for what we've done to you..."

"We would've done the same," Saryuu admitted, "I take it you've made enemies of the Hunters in this area?"

Shindou took another bite of his pasta before shaking his head slowly, "No. They don't know we're here. We've simply been watching them. They take refuge in a cinema downtown. It's their hangout, and they always have it heavily guarded."

"If you've been analyzing it, then are you planning on surprise attacking them?" Fey asked, a furrow appearing in his brow. Depending on their weaponry, with the three them, there were risks, but they could most definitely hold a candle to the Hunters. They'd gotten the slip on the both of them, even. Still... based on his own personal experiences, Fey knew quite well that Hunters were always grouped together in large numbers. Their numbers alone made them incredibly dangerous. Fey didn't even want to think about the endless supply of weapons they'd helped themselves to throughout their reign here on top of that...

It was a sticky situation he was happy not to be apart of. Though he felt a bit bad for Tenma. As upset as he'd been, he couldn't deny that Tenma seemed like a genuinely nice person. He didn't want him to get hurt, if it could be helped.

Shindou bit the inside of his lip before replying, "Yeah. We're in desperate need of supplies, so I feel that it might be our best option." He paused, adding in a slightly more bitter tone. "Besides, they brutally murder anyone and everyone who passes through this town... I understand that they're trying to survive like the rest of us, but that doesn't make it right. It's their fault that survivors like us are always so paranoid. They deserve what'll be coming to them."

"That they do," Saryuu smirked, "But picking a fight with one group of Hunters will inevitably make an enemy of Hunters in other groups, as well. You know that, right? Are you still up to the challenge?"

"I've already considered all of that..."

Tsurugi and Tenma never once protested, so it seemed it'd been something they'd been discussing, and heavily considering, for quite some time now.

"Perfect," came Saryuu's crisp voice in a musical response. Fey wondered how he could pull it off after all he'd been through that day. It was more then obvious to him that Saryuu was still quite groggy. "Consider Fey and I apart of it."

Shindou gaped at him, uncertainty written all over his face, "What? You'd help us, even after all we d-"

"Saru!" Fey spoke up sharply, cutting Shindou off before he could finish as shock settled within him at Saryuu's statement. He hesitated, the discomfort of their eyes flickering to him as he openly questioned why they would help them causing him to do so. The greenette's eyebrows knitted together, his minty hues narrowing in objection as he spoke rigidly. His self-consciousness brought down the volume of his voice. "Shouldn't we talk about those sorts of decisions together first?"

Saryuu pressed his lips together in a tight line before speaking, making it far more than apparent that he didn't wish to have such a conversation when in the presence of the others. "Yes, but we're in the same boat as they are. We're in desperate need of supplies, Fey," he said rather matter-of-factly. Violet eyes redirected themselves to Shindou, leaving their previous spot on Fey as the ex-Firefly's gaze grew harder. He could feel their blue-green depths burning into him. "So long as we split the spoils evenly among one another, we'll both help with this raid of yours."

"Saru!" Fey snapped his name again, preparing to protest against his partner. Despite Saryuu's usually calm manner, he couldn't keep from rolling his eyes in irritation at the green haired boy. "You're kidding, right? You're in no state to take part in a raid! Are you telling me that you'd manage in a fight with your head all banged up like that? You can hardly walk in a straight line." He paused, folding his arms over his chest and withdrawing his fixed gaze from Saryuu as he muttered once relaxing back into his chair, "I know that we need supplies. That's why _I'll _go with them. It'd be best for you to stay behind."

Saryuu hated arguing with Fey. He despised it, actually. It didn't always show, but his stomach would end up in knots and he'd find himself feeling lost - scared that he would end up alone again. In a situation like their current one, he would've understood where Fey was coming from. He would have touched Fey's face, as contact between them was always comforting, softly persuading him that he didn't need to worry about him so much. Apart of him may have even felt satisfied by the attention – at knowing that somebody cared enough about him to worry for him and his overall health.

Maybe it was his concussion cramming frustration, embarrassment and irritation into his mind. Or perhaps it was the exhaustion stemmed by the minor torture, and psychological strain that distressing for Fey's safety back then had caused him. Either way, he lashed out at the greenette, his tone harsh, "Shut up, Fey! Don't you dare spout orders at me. I can make decisions for myself. I'm not taking advice from the kid who nearly had himself killed by the same such enemy."

Shindou, Tenma and Tsurugi could only stare, unknowing of whether they should intervene or let them be. The entire scene was indeed awkward for them.

"Oh?" Fey's tone turned to ice after a cynical laugh just barely escaped him,"I'm your _partner_. Do you know what a partner is, Saryuu?" The use of his real name only indicated how exasperated he was. "It means we're _**equals**_! I'm not trying to order you around, I'm looking out for you, you jerk." He bit his lip, muttering, "Besides... you'll only get in the way if you come along."

Saryuu scoffed, "A partnership? _I_ saved _you_, and then you basically pleaded that I take you in. There wasn't anything equal about it."

Fey's heart sank.

"You're a dick," he murmured as he stood from his chair, retrieving his backpack from where it'd been laying at his feet. He turned away from the white haired survivor, swinging the teal and black bag onto his back before placing his can of food onto the nearby counter with a loud, firm clack.

He pattered out of the room, a hand tight around the strap of his bag. He could hear Saryuu brush off their argument as he spoke to the other three as if it had never happened. He went on to question the three on their fighting abilities – asking what sorts of weapons were available to them and such.

Fey sat himself down on the tattered couch in the other room, tossing his bag from his back and placing it next to him. Porcelain fingers worked at removing his rifle from where it was clipped to his bag, and he took it into his lap along with a rag. He preoccupied himself with maintaining the firearm, unloading it before dismantling it and wiping down each of it's parts with said rag.

It helped to calm him, though his thoughts remained fairly bitter.

"Are you okay?"

The greenette's head flew up at the sound of the compassionate voice, minty orbs seeming to search Tenma's form uncertainly as he gingerly approached. Fey caught the glimmer of concern within those silver irises as Tenma took a seat next to him, watching him before looking over towards the disassembled gun that lay on the worn coffee table in front of them. Currently, Fey worked at wiping down the rifle's barrel, his hand freezing in place against it's surface as he continued to examine the cinnamon haired boy who'd cared enough to check up on him.

With Tenma sitting as close as he was, Fey felt that it was the first time he'd really had a good look at him. He wasn't sure if maybe his hurt had influenced the thought upon him, but he couldn't help but realize that Tenma held an uncanny resemblance to Saryuu, minus the snow white locks of hair and the gorgeous violet eyes that seemed to glow, they were so striking.

The similarities in their facial structure was undeniable ; including the similarity in their small, snub shaped noses, their lips, jawline, and cheek bones. Even their skin complexion was matching, as well as the shape of their round eyes.

He tried to picture Saryuu without that intense gleam in his vivid eyes, a sweeter and gentler air surrounding him as well as his facial features...

Yes, he and Tenma definitely looked rather alike.

He couldn't make up his mind on whether that fact was comforting to him right then, or more so upsetting.

"I'm fine," Fey forced a weak smile, redirecting his gaze to his rifle as his hand thawed and continued with what he had neglected for a few passing moments, "Shouldn't you go back? Saru probably has endless questions for you..."

Tenma shrugged, smiling in return, "Tsurugi knows me well enough to answer in my place. Shindou too. I wanted to make sure you were okay... It's okay to be upset. I told Saru that he wasn't being very nice to you."

"What?" Fey's brow crinkled, his eyes blinking confusedly before he murmured, the astonishment evident in his soft tone, "You did that? W-why?" Why should Tenma feel the need to do something like that? It wasn't his concern. "If you feel guilty because of what your group did, then don't worry about it. I don't need you to try and make up for it."

"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel bad about that," Tenma frowned, though it didn't last when he added, a gentleness turning his lips up. His eyebrows remained furrowed, however. "But that isn't why I did it. What he said didn't seem fair to you, so saying something about it seemed like the right thing to do. Besides, we can be friends, right? I like you, Fey." He paused as a bright smile lit up his face, letting his facial features soften yet again before continuing, "And... he didn't say it, but it was more than obvious to me that Saru looked troubled. I think he feels bad."

"Good...So he should." Fey grumbled, pressing his lips together despite the faint blush heating his cheeks up. He was stubborn, but even he couldn't oppose the way his heart soothed at knowing that Saryuu at least regretted what he'd said. Between that, and the way Tenma was treating him – wishing to become his friend, even – how could he not flush? "Hmmm, thanks, Tenma."

Tenma merely beamed, watching with bright eyes as Fey began to reassemble his rifle. Neither spoke another word, not until Fey looked over his rifle one last time and then secured it back onto it's spot on his bag. From there, he unzipped the bag's opening, peering within so that he could search it's insides for a tattered magazine that he'd taken from the library earlier.

The cinnamon haired survivor stared at the magazine with sparkling, silver orbs as Fey placed it in his lap, flipping it over to it's first page. "That's a sports magazine, right?" he broke the lingering silence with his eagerness, leaning in closer to confirm what it was he thought he'd seen. Yup, it was definitely a sports magazine. "Do you like the looks of soccer, Fey?"

Fey glanced over at him, fairly surprised to hear that Tenma was familiar with it, also. It wasn't often that survivors cared for the lifestyles and such of the old world. It was insignificant to them. Many were curious, if anything, but not many indulged in such things during their fleeting moments of peace and quiet. It was nothing more than a waste of time – a distraction that would get you killed.

"Yeah, I do," a genuine smile crossed his lips as he regarded Tenma's question with friendliness, "I like to look through magazines during moments like these. It keeps me motivated. And how about you? You like soccer, Tenma?"

If Tenma's eyes could glitter more than they already had been, that they definitely did as he gestured his sentiment for the sport through the enthusiastic nod of his head. "Yeah. I used to have a ball back when I lived in a quarantine zone. Soldiers took it away after I accidentally kicked it at one of their heads, though," he giggled, "But I've been looking out for one whenever we're on the move. One has to turn up eventually."

"So you've actually seen one in real life!?" Fey exclaimed breathlessly. Tenma's passion must have been contagious, rubbing off on him. He'd never met anybody else who'd shared the same peculiar interest as him. It made it all the more exciting that Tenma appeared to be about his age. His physical similarity to Saryuu was a bonus. He couldn't hold himself back despite both his earlier, cold demeanour, and the fact that Saryuu had left him feeling rattled. Even if it was only temporarily, he didn't feel any such negativity, as the buzz of excitement had drowned it all out. "Can you tell me what it was like?" he asked, dazzled that he was in the presence of somebody who could feed his curiosity, "What does a soccer ball feel like? It's texture? Is it hard to kick around?"

Tenma seemed to be trying to recall. That, or he was trying to think of the best possible way to describe it to the boy. "Hmmm..." he bit at the inside of his lip, "I think that soccer balls are made of leather... So it's surface was kinda hard and slick. I don't really know how to describe it." His look of utmost focus as he attempted to describe it soon lifted, bringing fourth his lightheartedness as he continued. "But when you kick it, it isn't hard so long as you view soccer as your friend. But it's the passes that make soccer the most fun. When you exchange passes with others, you're also exchanging your emotions with them. You can feel it through the ball." He paused to take a desirous breath. "I really want to show that to Tsurugi and Shindou someday..."

Fey had a bit of difficulty understanding what Tenma meant, though the mystery behind it only made him all the more eager to experience it someday.

The greenette encouraged for Tenma to sit closer, leg-against-leg. He centred the magazine, placing it in-between them – where their thighs touched. Neither paid attention to how much time had passed as they looked through the magazine together, admiring what they had in common. Maybe they'd done so for an hour. Maybe more.

The sun filtering in through the window had long ago faded, and at some point, Shindou had wandered in, placing a lit gas lamp on the coffee table. Silver tinged moonlight lit the ebony skies outside, and Fey found himself glancing at it as it glowed like the beacon that it was in the night sky.

Normally, on nights like these, he would've been gazing upon it's charm alongside Saryuu...

With a light sigh, Fey broke away from his and Tenma's enjoyment to sheepishly state, "It's getting late. I think the others have already gone to bed. If you'd like, you can keep the magazine. But I should probably check on Saru."

"Okay," Tenma beamed warmly, "Goodnight. I hope you sleep well. I'll see you in the morning. Oh, and don't worry about staying up on guard duty or anything like that. It's mine and Tsurugi's turn for that tonight."

He was no longer wary of Tenma or his friends. They seemed friendly enough, and were merely trying to survive in the most civil way they could manage. Fey needed to trust them if they were going to take on a group of Hunters together... Trusting them with his life in the night was maybe a start towards their much needed unity, though he'd probably end up staying up anyway.

"Thanks, Tenma," Fey grinned in return, standing from his warm spot on the couch where he'd shared such closeness with the other. He took his bag by the strap with a single hand, continuing to peer down at Tenma with bright eyes. The glowing gas lamp cast shadows across his form, highlighting his facial features with a dim, warm shade of gold. "Good luck with guard duty. Wake me if you need anything, and make sure to fit in some time to sleep."

"Don't worry. Tsurugi and I will take turns," he assured him, his smile appearing faintly more timid.

Tenma stood up after the greenette, clutching onto the gas lamp on the coffee table and bringing it along with them as they ventured upstairs. Tenma pointed Fey in the direction to his and Saryuu's room, claiming that it was the bedroom at the very end of the hall.

They said their final goodnights before Tenma drifted into the room he himself apparently shared with Tsurugi.

Left in the dark, Fey let the moonlight guide him as he wandered to the end of the hall, silver tinged light washing in from the opening to their room. There must have been a decent sized window in there.

He crept inside, green-blue eyes moving aimlessly around the room's mid-sized space, taking in it's towering shelf of books, the cracked television that'd been mounted to the wall, a dusty desk, as well as the many posters that lined the walls which had dulled through both ageing and sun exposure, until finally halting on the bed that sat in the corner. He identified the lump in it's bedsheets to be Saryuu, who's back was turned to him. He was most likely asleep by this point.

Fey tried his best to keep quiet as he tiptoed across the room, setting his bag on the ground at Saryuu's bedside before sitting down onto it's carpeted surface. Just as he curled against it, preparing to lay his head against his bag as if it were a pillow, Saryuu stirred, rolling over. The bed's springs groaned and squeaked in protest to the motion.

Violet orbs peered at Fey through the darkness, his crisp voice following, "Were you really planning on sleeping on the floor tonight, Fey?"

The ex-Firefly jumped faintly when he realized that Saryuu was indeed alert and conscious at the sounds of his stirring. Fey met the royal purple eyes that seemed to glitter even in the blackness. "What's it matter? I don't need you to look out for me when I'm just a burden that you felt obliged to take in. I can take care of myself," he hardly breathed, though his stare lingered, refusing to withdraw. He didn't sound bitter or resentful, but more so disheartened as he spoke softly into the shadows. Minty coloured irises reflected the same such emotion as they held Saryuu's gaze steadily.

"Fey..." Saryuu whispered softly in return, melancholy shimmering in the depths of those violet pools as a furrow appeared in his brow, "...I waited up for you so that we could talk."

The greenette pursed his lips in thought, his gaze flickering away from the other as he murmured, "Did you mean it?... What you said?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

The room fell silent as Fey tentatively searched Saryuu's face. It was hard to stay mad at him. They were both stubborn, but the greenette could read the truth in his partner's moonlit face. Still, the insecurities always remained somewhere in the back of his mind. A portion of Saryuu's words had been true, after all. What it all depended on was whether Saryuu needed Fey in the same way that the greenette needed him.

Finally, the room's silent atmosphere shattered as Fey quietly asked, the words his own way of indirectly displaying his forgiveness, "How's your head? Do you feel okay? What about your hand?"

Saryuu just barely cracked a smile as he readjusted the way he lay on the bed, making enough room for Fey to slip in next to him before patting at the empty space with his hand. "Really, I feel perfectly fine. You did a splendid job with the dressing, so I suppose I should thank you for that," he paused, adding, "Now come on. Get yourself up from the floor and join me."

Without another delayed moment, Fey pushed himself up from the floor, crawling into the open space next to Saryuu. He gingerly swept his fingertips through the white haired boy's bangs so that he could examine his head wound.

"You should probably get some sleep," a small smile twitched against the greenette's lips as he removed said hand, drawing it against his chest and burying his head deeper into his pillow. It was pretty soft: the most comfortable sleeping space they'd had in a while.

It seemed that Saryuu desired to talk some more, or at least that's what the gleam in his violet eyes said. Especially after fighting with him, it somehow felt as if there was nothing but a mere thread keeping him linked to the ex-Firefly. It was so fragile, and if it snapped apart by any means, then he would be alone again.

If they were to die tomorrow, he wanted to make the most of the peace that they still had. He wanted to talk to his heart's content ; to hear Fey's voice as he responded to him ; and to feel the warmth of Fey's porcelain skin.

It could all be gone tomorrow.

Regardless of his emotions and his fears, his physical being protested. His head continued to throb, though the pain was dull and more faint then before, at least. But his eyelids were heavy, and it was becoming futile to defy it. He struggled just to keep them open, and he was more than positive that he'd be sucked into the realm of sleep the moment he closed them.

Saryuu nodded into his pillow, carefully caressing Fey's bruised cheek before rolling over onto his opposite side and readjusting himself against the mattress. "Goodnight, Fey," he murmured.

"Night," Fey breathed out.

It wasn't until Saryuu had settled into sleep that Fey reluctantly nestled his head into the surface of Saryuu's spine, wrapping his arms around the white haired survivor's frame in hopes to keep Saryuu's frequent nightmares away...

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**Thanks for reading! I hope you all liked it! Please review, if you can! =) **


	4. Ch3 Green Eyes

**Hello! First off, thanks to everybody who reviewed and followed/favourited. And even those of you who are even choosing to read this at all. It means the world to me. I've become really immersed in this story, so yeah... I'm just happy.**

**Anyhow, this is probably the most violent and brutal piece I have ever written. As much as I love action, it isn't often that I write many action sequences in any of my other stories. Ugh, so I'm so sorry if this is sort of amateurish. Especially this chapter. Cause though there will be other action parts coming up in the next few chapters, this one is probably the most aggressive? I don't know. I just hope I managed to pull it off. **

**Ah, and for anyone interested - the new cover for this is actually my commission from Rinji. There are a few other pics too, so if you wanted to check them out you can find both the urls for Rinji's tumblr and my own writing tumblr on my profile here on FF. She did a really lovely job, so I totally encourage you check them out! **

**WARNINGS: Strong Language (especially in this chapter! Blame the hostiles cause I took their actual quotes from the game), Violence, Blood & Gore, Sex, Death... **

**Disclaimer (I always forget these): I don't own Inazuma Eleven, nor The Last of Us. **

**Enjoy~! **

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**Chapter Three – Green Eyes**

* * *

Saryuu looked like hell, but the group had given him a few days to recover. Those few days had been a few days too long, and the attack on the Hunters would determine whether they would be able to eat at all that day. Assuming they survived.

"Once we get there, we'll split off into groups and try to stealth them," Shindou briefed the small band of survivors as they walked through the empty streets of the Hunter controlled city. It didn't seem the Hunters had spread out much past the heavily guarded cinema, however, as there was no activity indicating such. "It's essential that we try and take out the Hunters quietly and one-by-one. With ammunition in short supply, it's best that we attempt alternatives anyway. Only shoot if you absolutely need to."

Saryuu didn't like to be bossed around, primarily by the boy who had tortured him. That, and he couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the statement of splitting up. What would keep Shindou's group from nabbing resources and leaving Saryuu and Fey behind as scapegoats? But Shindou hadn't done anything to earn himself any sort of suspicion. That, and over the past few days, he'd come to respect Shindou as a talented strategist. He'd come to accept letting Shindou call the shots. Though that wouldn't keep him from protesting if he ever housed any sort of disagreement.

"Saru, I'd like you to pair up with Tsurugi," Shindou proclaimed, "And Tenma, you stay with Fey. I'll be fine on my own. I'll work at taking any Hunters down silently from a distance with my bow."

Saryuu understood Shindou's reasoning. It worked out best that way, considering it evened out their fighting strength. Saryuu worked best with firearms, where as Tsurugi was more so close range with his hatchet. The same was in motion for Tenma and Fey. Fey was capable of using either molotovs, his rifle (if needed), and his blunt weapon. Tenma was more lightly armed, with only a revolver and smoke bombs, which would work usefully with Fey's weaponry and stealth killing.

Saryuu grasped this, but that never stopped the prickle in his heart.

Fey shared a smile with Tenma as they locked eyes at the news.

The bruise on his face had become distinctly darker against the surface of his cheek, forming into a big blotch of indigo that spread across the entirety of his cheek bone. It looked painful, but it failed to dull the way he glowed when smiling.

"I'll have your back!" Fey curled his hand into a fist, conveying his approval of fighting alongside the cinnamon haired boy.

"What?" Saryuu directed his sour gaze at the greenette, quick to redirect their disapproving depths to Shindou, "No, Fey stays with me."

Fey's eyebrows drew together as his cheerful shine dimmed, and was instead replaced by his uncertainty. He knew where Saryuu was coming from. He was wary not to have his back, but he trusted Shindou's judgement. If staying in their assigned groups benefited them as a whole, then he'd do it.

He forced a small look of reassurance at his partner, "I'll be fine, Saru. I think we should stick to the plan."

Saryuu merely scowled, hard eyes directed at the cement below until the heat in his cheeks dwindled.

The fact that Fey didn't even seem the least bit dismayed bothered him even more so.

He fell a few paces behind the group, sourly watching as Fey chatted happily away to Tenma. They'd been so close over the few days they'd spent together... The knot in the white haired boy's stomach only grew tighter as violet orbs flickered between them, taking in the way they seemed so at ease around one another ; the way Fey smiled more brightly then usual ; and that Tenma apparently even knew of Fey's greatest passion. That being soccer. What were the chances? In their post-pandemic world, they were slim. Tenma was perfect or something...

It was a good thing that the way his stomach knotted to the point where he was nauseous was easily overpowered and forgotten once pure battle instinct set in. Survival was the topmost priority. It always was. Everything else was insignificant, including the pangs of bitterness and covetousness that struck him.

The small group approached the looming cinema with caution once in the Hunter's territory. They took cover a good distance away, crouching behind one of the many rusted cars in the cinema's parking lot. From their position, they could see three Hunters wandering the area. One was stationed at the main entrance, a rifle slung around his shoulder, as two others conversed before breaking off in opposite directions across the vast parking lot.

"Tsurugi, Saru and I will take out the Hunters outside of the entrance," Shindou explained, his tone hushed. After observing since arriving in the town, he'd memorized the exterior layout. "Tenma. Fey. The both of you head in through the back and dispatch any Hunters you come across. Once inside, we'll secretly override them from each side. We must be thorough, but keep in mind that the slower you are, the more likely a live enemy will discover a fallen ally, and thus the element of surprise will be taken from us. Though if this _does _happen, stealth is still available to us, so long as we aren't seen. They'll just be more alert. So be careful and make every action count."

"How many do you suppose there are?" Saryuu asked, his focus written all over his face.

The way that Shindou's brow furrowed ever so slightly indicated that the numbers were more than he would've liked. "Based on the size of the building, and with my own observations as a leading factor, I'd estimate that there are about fifty Hunters within. On top of this, the building's interior is completely mysterious to us. This is why keeping our cover with stealth is so imperative to us. We'll be overrun by their numbers if we're caught early on."

Saryuu snickered, arrogance in both his tone and posture as he spoke, "If it comes down to a gunfight, I promise you, they won't even hold a candle to me."

He didn't feel it as worried, mint tinged eyes fixated themselves upon him, flickering to his head bandages before focusing solely on his fearless face.

"Let us hope it doesn't come down to a gunfight," Shindou replied dryly before motioning for the execution of part one of their plan. "Tenma, Fey – you both be careful," he whispered after them as they prepared to sneak off towards the rear entrance, using the many scattered cars as their cover.

Saryuu snatched Fey's wrist as he went to leave, spinning him around so that he met Fey's bright eyes with his own fierce ones. "You weren't planning on leaving without saying good luck, I hope," he'd meant to sound teasing, though his hushed tone sounded stiff more then anything. He didn't want to let him go, and the fact that he had no choice right then only made his heart ache. "Don't you ever forget your promise to me. Otherwise I'll find you in hell and kill you myself." His stare was unflinching. "Take care of yourself."

Despite his utmost seriousness, Saryuu had partially expected a teasing retort. He hadn't predicted that Fey would peer into his face, his eyes warm with thoughtfulness as a porcelain hand swept across the surface of the medical bandages that were snuggled around his concussed head. "You have to make me a promise too," he said, "Trust your new partners. If you ever need to for any reason, pull back and trust them to take care of you and cover your back."

Before he could receive a reply, Fey squeezed his fingers around the hand that Saryuu had clamped around his porcelain wrist. Once squeezing his hand in reassurance, the greenette then pulled away and followed after his cinnamon haired teammate.

Saryuu watched after him for a few lingering moments before redirecting his focus to the Hunter who roamed the parking lot, growing nearer to the hidden group of survivors. He would serve to be Saryuu's first victim.

Any sort of compassion was drained from the royal purple irises, replaced with a piercing, icy gleam.

"I'll take that one," Saryuu murmured, "Tsurugi, there's a second one heading in the parking lot's opposite direction. Take him."

Shindou nodded in agreement, giving Tsurugi the okay. "I'll take care of the Hunter stationed at the entrance." With that, the curly haired boy claimed his bow from his backpack and silently crept across the parking lot, ensuring that he was hidden as he gradually drew closer to the cinema's main entrance.

Tsurugi broke away from their spot in order to pursue his own target, leaving Saryuu as he continued to watch as his enemy approached the broken car that the survivor had settled behind. He merely waited now, picking up a shard of glass from the concrete ground below that must have come from the vehicle's shattered windows.

A shiver of anticipation ran through him at the sound of the nearing footsteps.

"What the fuck's the point of checking this fucking parking lot every damned day? Nobody's fucking here," the Hunter muttered to himself, inches away now.

The moment the Hunter sauntered past the decrepit vehicle and exposed his back, Saryuu jolted up from the concrete. He clasped a hand forcefully over the Hunter's mouth before his hand shot around the Hunter's frame and slashed the fragment of glass across the tender surface of his throat. A strangled cry escaped him and crimson gushed from the slit in his throat as Saryuu quickly aided him in sagging to the ground, sheltering them from sight behind the same car that had previously hidden his killer.

Saryuu's heart pumped strongly in his chest with adrenaline as he propped the dying Hunter against the frame of the car. Unknowing of when the blood loss would kill him as he continued to make pathetic, choking noises, Saryuu swung his bag from his back and shoved it into the Hunter's face, smothering him until his body went completely limp.

He hastily searched the corpse for anything useful, especially pleading that there would be ammo. But he came out empty.

He watched as Shindou's arrow silently whipped through the air, striking it's unknowing victim and killing him instantly. A thump followed as he hit the ground, but nothing that would reach the cinema's interior and alert any of the others. Once Tsurugi ran his hatchet through his own enemy, killing him so quickly that he hadn't even spared a moment to scream, the three of them met up near the cinema's entrance.

Saryuu peered down at the corpse of the Hunter who had previously been stationed there, eyeing his rifle before suggesting that Tsurugi take it considering he lacked any sort of firearm. It turned out the Hunter also had a bit of extra rifle ammo on him too. Saryuu would have collected it and saved it for Fey, but for now, it went to Tsurugi.

Considering it hadn't snapped on contact, Shindou reclaimed his arrow from where it'd plunged into it's victim right between the eyes. He hauled the motionless body away from the rows of broken and jagged glass doors that made up the cinema's entrance, concealing it behind the car nearest the cinema.

From there, they crept inside, wary of any Hunters who may have occupied the interior lobby.

A barrel with a fire lit within burned fiercely towards the back, illuminating the concession stand as well as four figures. The three of them ducked behind the nearby ticket desk,catching the end of the Hunter's muffled conversation that filled the large space as they observed them, waiting for the opportunity to kill them off quietly one-by-one.

"Hey. How long are we supposed to stand here with our dicks in our hands?" one grumbled.

A second shrugged, "I don't know. C'mon, let's go check with the guys down by theatres one and two."

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the group to scatter.

One Hunter walked over to the ticket stand, and Shindou and the other two couldn't keep from holding their breath, anxious on whether he'd discover them hiding behind it or not. Their muscles tightened in anticipation, and the three of them were prepared to spring into action if they needed to. But the Hunter merely leaned against the desk's front, his back to them. Thank god.

Two others walked towards the left hallway that led down to theatres one and two, apparently, as the fourth and last visible Hunter remained near the concession stand. Chairs from the cinema rooms had been placed around the sizzling fire, and he plopped into one and began to flip through a magazine that'd been placed in a pile of many more of them on the carpeted floor below. Luckily for them, he faced the concession stand.

It was the perfect opportunity to strike.

Saryuu started them off, grabbing onto the Hunter from behind and immediately covering up his mouth. This one was fairly larger and stronger than his last kill, but the white haired survivor managed to retain a firm chokehold on him. The Hunter struggled, however, hands blindly trying to swat his assailant's face before he gradually weakened, and Saryuu was able to drag him across the desk and bring him behind it. With Tsurugi's help, they managed to settle him onto the ground mutely.

With the other two having left the large space towards the hall, and the other facing the other way, no one had noticed them.

So far so good.

But the Hunters would realize that their companions were missing sooner or later... They needed to take as many of them down as possible before that happened.

Next up was the Hunter in the chair.

Shindou took that one, moving fairly closer, though not so close where he was exposed to the halls on either side of the lobby. Just enough to give him the angle necessary for him to use his bow.

He aimed, drawing his hand back against the bowstring before releasing it and watching it's arrow whizz through the air. It's flint arrowhead sliced right through his temple. The Hunter sagged into his chair, the firelight dancing in his dead eyes.

The group moved across the lobby, moving against the left wall and peeking into the hallway to try and spot where the other two had gone. More firelight illuminated the hall, barrels placed next to the entrance to each theatre. Each was labelled with a number, with theatres one and two residing opposite one another towards the back.

The two Hunters stood with another small group outside of theatre two.

The first room down the hall was the boy's bathroom, and that was where Tsurugi, Saryuu and Shindou hid as they awaited the return of the two Hunters. That, or for an opportunity to take the entire group on.

Until then, Shindou wandered into the depths of the bathroom on his own, searching it to ensure that no Hunters occupied it. But it was empty, dirty and abandoned. It was obvious that the Hunters rarely touched it.

Saryuu and Tsurugi watched them carefully from the opening of the restroom, and Saryuu was beginning to grow impatient. It would be a lie if he said that he didn't feel some form of pleasure as he could feel their life seep from their bodies through his fingertips, especially after the pain they had caused other survivors. They may not have been the same group, but a band of Hunters had been the ones to potentially harm Fey.

Revenge was satisfying.

"This is taking too long," Shindou murmured once he rejoined them, "You two should check out the hall on the other side. Leave this group to me. I'll handle it."

He and Tenma knew better then anybody that Shindou was far more then qualified for the task. Either way though, Tsurugi considered it before reluctantly nodding his head. He didn't want to leave Shindou alone to take on a large group of Hunters if they didn't need to, but all the while, taking down Hunters in all directions may aid in keeping their presence concealed. Otherwise, a Hunter from the other side of the cinema could very well stumble across the dead bodies they'd left in their wake.

But it didn't seem to be an issue in the end, as the same Hunters as before finished the conversation off with something that the three didn't quite catch from their position, heading back down the hall. The three Hunters they'd been speaking with disappeared into theatre two's entrance.

"Splendid," Saryuu basically purred, a smirk crossing his lips as he turned to meet Tsurugi's golden gaze, "When they pass the bathroom, I'll grab one and you grab the other. We'll take them in the bathroom so that no one will see."

Tsurugi nodded, and the three of them rounded the bathroom's corner, intently listening to the footsteps of the Hunters as they grew ever nearer. When they finally passed the room's opening, Saryuu and Tsurugi slipped back out into the hall, lurking behind them before grabbing them and pulling them into the enclosed bathroom. Muffled screams of outrage came from them, but nothing that anybody in another far off room would hear.

The blade of Tsurugi's hatchet was caked in red as it dug into the surface of it's prisoner's throat, a quiet gurgling the only sound escaping the Hunter as Tsurugi pressed him against the wall and let him bleed out and choke on his very own life force.

Saryuu's guy tried to overpower him as he smothered him, though Shindou helped in holding him down and the Hunter's resistance was deemed worthless as his struggling dwindled and he lay still on the cracked bathroom floor.

"Now is when we split up," Shindou declared as they made their way back out into the empty lobby. He lingered closely to the left hall, his senses acute as he listened out for any Hunters who may have left the enclosed spaces of each theatre. "I'll go through this hallway and each of it's theatres. You two go down the one on the opposite side: the one labelled 'theatres five to eight.'"

They obeyed, watching as Shindou was swallowed up by the dark entrance that was theatre three before making their way to the opposite side of the lobby.

And that was when Saryuu's heart froze in his chest when two other Hunters suddenly appeared from a steel door with a dulled label reading 'employees only' towards the right side of the concession stand.

"Fuck!" he lipped, frantically bringing himself over the concession stand. Tsurugi followed suit, and the pair ducked behind it.

They hadn't taken notice, chatting away with one another before halting against the carpet.

They didn't seem to take notice of their buddy who sat in the nearby chair, an arrow sticking into his head. Not yet, anyway.

Their conversation went on for a few more lines before one of them gradually seemed to fade away from it, his eyes flickering around the lobby before he asked questionably, "Hey, where the fuck did everyone else go?"

Saryuu bit at the inside of his mouth, leaping from over the concession stand. It wasn't the quietest of take-downs, but he couldn't have them questioning the whereabouts of their friends. The last thing they needed was for him to call out to the others, alerting whichever Hunters remained on the first floor. They'd only touched the lobby, really, so Saryuu figured they were bound to run into many more. They couldn't get caught yet.

"Fuck! Who's that!?" the first Hunter to take notice of Saryuu cried out before he was knocked to the ground and silenced. The white haired survivor snaked his fingers around the Hunter's neck, squeezing as tightly as he possibly could as Tsurugi took down the second guy. Blood sprayed against Saryuu's hair at Tsurugi's kill, and the body slumped to the floor with a thud right next to Saryuu's enemy.

Bruises that were the outline of his fingers marked the Hunter's neck as he withdrew, asking that Tsurugi help him toss the bodies behind the concession stand.

Once the evidence of their presence there was concealed, the two headed down the hall, more alert in fear that a Hunter had misheard their scuffle. They entered the shadows of the room that was marked 'theatre five,' their sight guided with only the firelight from a barrel that sat at the end of the row of chairs in the theatre.

A hunter sat in the first row, an assault rifle resting against the frame of his chair, though he appeared to be asleep.

Saryuu had to restrain himself from exploding into a fit of laughter, a smirk returning to his face,"They honestly make it so simple for us."

It didn't take all too much effort for Saryuu to make quick, ruthless work of the napping Hunter. He took the assault rifle from it's spot on the ground, taking any ammo that the Hunter had on him before leaving theatre five and investigating theatre six which lay directly across the hall.

It wasn't until after they'd incapacitated the Hunters within that they heard it.

Both Saryuu and Tsurugi were paralyzed at the sound of the gunshot, holding their breath as they processed it.

It was extremely muffled, seeming to come from an upper floor, but the thunderous crack of a gunshot was unmistakable. And it could only mean one thing.

The other group had been spotted.

* * *

There was a loud crunch as his skull cracked. His body went weak at immediate contact, and he sank to the concrete below. His blood pooled underneath him, and Tenma could only shudder as Fey's hand withdrew back to his side, the lead pipe that was grasped tightly between his fingers stained red.

Unflinchingly, Fey walked off towards the back entrance.

It was a sectional door that may have been used for stock deliveries in the past, but now it was rusted and broken. It was dented in to the point where it was possible to squeeze in through the far side, meaning they wouldn't need to pry it open, and thus make it screech.

"I'll check first and make sure that no one's inside," Fey whispered to the brunette.

They'd come across more then enough Hunters on there trek to the back, and Fey had come to learn of Tenma's dislike for fighting. It was no wonder he was so lightly armed with only a revolver and smoke bombs... but even so. That would only get him killed. It was to kill or be killed. Not that Fey would tell him that... He could handle his own fair share of Hunters, anyway. Tenma was doing just fine as his backup aid.

The ex-Firefly peeked through the open side of the broken door, minty orbs flickering across the large storage room. It only made sense that the Hunters would keep their supplies in a location that wasn't so obvious, as the storage room was filled only with several tall shelves of items that were more or less useless to them. That, and in the corner were a pile of backpacks... and nearby, a table splattered in blood.

Fey merely shook his head in disgust, unwilling to let his eyes wander any further. He didn't want to see the piles of charred bodies that were their victims...

"Do you see anybody?" Tenma asked cautiously.

"No... But there's so much shelving clutter that it's impossible to say for sure whether there's anyone in there or not. We'll have to be extra careful," Fey replied. He pressed an ear to the door next, figuring that if he couldn't see anybody, that he would trust his sharp hearing senses instead. "I can't hear anyone either... I think it may have just been the outside guards. Either way, stay close."

Sunlight filtered inside via the storage room windows, so Fey at least didn't need to click on his flashlight as they sneaked inside. Doing so would've put them at greater risk of getting caught.

They tiptoed through the vast room, freezing at every corner and ensuring they glance around each one for Hunters before continuing.

Fey listened out again for any signs of Hunter activity once they made it to a door on the other side of the room. Except it wasn't much of a door. It must have broken off it's hinges at some point in the past considering it was nothing more then a rectangular opening in the wall.

They crept out into a thin hallway when they realized that it was clear, realizing that one way led to the cinema's lobby. Though that would be where Saryuu and the others were, so Fey took them in the opposing direction. There was a sign on the far wall that looked just about ready to fall off, as it sat on an angle. There was a simple drawing of stairs on it, indicating the stairway to the second floor of the building.

However, one other room lay between them and the stairs as they continued down the hall.

Fey dropped to the floor at the muffled noises from it, shuffling closer to the room's door so that he could tune in better, and hopefully pick up on how many Hunters resided within.

"You have twenty-five cans of bacon!?" one of the Hunter's exclaimed, "That shit's still good!?"

Fey could only raise an eyebrow, exchanging a look with Tenma.

"Why do you wanna know?"

"What do you think?" the first Hunter to speak sounded as if he might be drooling, "I want some."

The other could only respond with sarcasm in his tone, "Yeah. I bet you do."

"Man... I saved your ass from that clicker last week."

Fey just barely stole a glimpse from where he was crouched next to the door.

The room appeared to be some sort of lounge, or a 'staff room,' or so a tattered sign on the wall read. It was made up of a single table and two battered couches. Magazines littered the table's surface, and there was a window at the far wall that allowed for light. A barrel sat at the room's back corner – which they most likely lit during the nighttime.

The two Hunters sat at the couch, and the one who seemed oh so proud of his canned bacon seemed to be helping himself to it right then and there.

Fey would be sure to enjoy the apparent bacon for the both of them by tonight.

"I'll think about it."

Fey motioned for Tenma to prepare a smoke bomb as he crept into the room, moving cautiously slow so that they wouldn't take notice of him while they were locked in conversation.

"I shoulda let your ass die back there."

The moment Fey bashed one over the head, Tenma threw in a smoke bomb that exploded and consumed the entire room in a blinding white blanket. Fey had rendered one unconscious, searching out the form of the second through the hazy smoke. He managed to get behind the confused Hunter as he roared swear words and threats at them. He brought his lead pipe around the scrambling Hunter's form, pressing it into his windpipe with as much force as he could muster in an attempt to both silence and strangle him. His feet left the ground as the Hunter struggled, considering the Hunter was considerably taller then him. But that didn't stop Fey from pulling back against his blunt weapon with all his might. The Hunter choked and gasped, blindly stumbling in the fog of the smoke bomb as he fought to toss Fey from him.

He'd probably planned to ram his back, and thus Fey, into the wall, though didn't manage to navigate his way there in time.

The skirmish may have caused more of a commotion then they would have liked as the Hunter had stumbled around the room, bumping into things. But he soon dropped to the floor, and Fey's strained muscles relaxed as he stood from the body, his fingers stiff from grasping onto his pipe so desperately.

Before leaving the room, he brought his pipe down on the unconscious one, smearing the floor with his blood.

"Are you okay?" Tenma's eyes seemed to be checking the greenette over as he emerged from the dwindling mist and into the hallway.

Fey nodded his head, "Yes, I'm fine. Let's hurry upstairs, Tenma."

The stairway was next to the staff room, and the pair warily began their ascent.

It was when Fey could see the top that he heard voices off to the side.

"Alright. Spread out and make sure we didn't miss anymore of these fuckers."

Fey halted partway up the steps, motioning a hand out to halt Tenma at the sudden voice. He furrowed his eyebrows as the comment sunk in and he began to process it. They knew they were there? Had someone been discovered? Were the others okay? It didn't sound like it... It sounded almost as if they'd found one of them, and... and...

Oh god.

Fey turned his head back to urgently whisper at Tenma, "I'll go first. You wait here."

It sounded like the group of Hunters had 'spread out,' just as they'd been ordered. When Fey reached the top of the stairwell, there wasn't a Hunter in sight. He needed to explore the floor and figure out what had happened. The way they'd said it... it made it sound as if they'd already taken care of whoever they'd discovered, and were on the look-out for anymore stowaways. But he needed to be sure. If they were still alive somewhere...

_'Please don't be Saru...' _

He reached the top of the stairs, taking a few steps onto the second floor's carpet when he was suddenly knocked to the ground, the wind knocked out of him at the force when he realized that he couldn't breathe.

He wheezed, his eyes trying to focus on the Hunter who sat over top of him, pinning him.

Where had he come from!? Fey panicked as cold fingers wrapped around his throat.

"You're just a fucking kid!" the Hunter's orbs flicked to the Firefly pendant that'd rose from his shirt's neckline at the force of his fall, raising an eyebrow at it, "What the hell would a Firefly want all the way out here? Either way, it's a shame I wouldn't be able to recruit you. A Firefly in our roster would have been a nice add-on, though it'd be impossible to convert you now that you've got all that 'lost in the darkness' and 'look for the light' shit in your head."

Fey weakly raised a hand, barely capable of closing it around the Hunter's wrist in an attempt to pry the strong hand away. But it was futile. His lungs burned in his chest, and his heart hammered wildly in response to the lack of oxygen. His eyes were beginning to blur, and he could feel any strength within him begin to quickly fade.

And then came death by a bullet.

The gunshot was earsplitting, and it continued to ring in his ears even moments later.

The Hunter's hands slipped away from Fey's throat as he slumped over, leaving Fey choking and coughing for air in his need to catch his breath. When it passed, he confusedly began to question what had happened, but then noticed Tenma looming ahead of him. His revolver was clasped within his trembling hand, it's barrel still smoking.

Fey's mind still felt a little bit fuzzy, but he connected it all, and also suddenly realized what the sound of the gunshot had meant for them.

He shot up from the ground, taking hold of Tenma's quaking arm, "We have to take cover _now_!"

Thanking Tenma for saving his life would have to wait.

He seemed a little shaken. Perhaps it had even been his first kill. Fey was grateful that he had gone further then he was comfortable with for him.

"A-are you alright?" Tenma asked, the concern dancing in his eyes as Fey helped him lower his gun, grasping onto his hand in an attempt to coax him forward. Hunters could show up at any moment. The greenette listened out closely for any activity of them.

He could hear distant, pounding footsteps from down the hall to their left... a group made up of about four or five of them.

"Yes, but we have to go!" he said urgently, tugging at the cinnamon haired boy's wrist.

Though he continued to shake, Tenma firmly nodded in response.

But before they could even move one step, the world seemed to explode around them – flames seeming to burst out of nowhere right next to them as the molotov cocktail smashed into the floor and exploded.

The heat was intense as it seemed to sear Fey's face as he instinctively stepped back, his arms raised to protect his face from the flames. The sudden-ness of it all was incredibly overwhelming, but at least it'd been off to the side of them.

Fey was quick to recollect himself just as the group of Hunters, the Molotov user covered in a gas mask towards the back, stampeded in from the hallway. Fey's ears had served him well, considering he was right about their numbers. There were five: one molotov user, two with blunt weapons, and the last two possessing firearms.

They and the molotov user had to go down first.

"Tenma!" Fey cried, frantically taking hold of his rifle, just before gunshots rung out and tore through the air all around them, "Smokebomb!"

Just before the bomb went off, engulfing the room in it's white steam, one of the stray bullets must have struck Fey in the shoulder. He could feel it aching, though it seemed dull when his blood pumped with such amounts of adrenaline. He didn't bother to look at it for confirmation, instead loading his rifle and firing.

Tenma followed suit, firing at the shadows that resided in the mist with his revolver.

Fey wasn't certain of how many bullets Tenma had, but he himself was at a precious amount of six. After hearing the dying screams of both the molotov user and one of the two gun wielders, he was down to four.

"Holy shit!" one of the live Hunters yelled, "You're fucking dead!"

The smokescreen was beginning to fade, lingering but visible enough for the two remaining Hunters to recollect themselves. Tenma had managed to gun down the second Hunter who'd possessed a firearm, and now only the two with the blunt weapons remained.

For now, at least.

Fey could hear it as footsteps sounded from the stairwell...

It was impossible to estimate just how many more Hunters remained. And with only four precious bullets left, Fey couldn't keep from questioning just how many more swarms they could handle before they were completely overwhelmed...

For now, all he could do was swiftly swing his rifle over his shoulder and grab for his lead pipe before swinging at the two who remained. He could see bits of blood splattering onto the floor from his shoulder as he rolled away from an attempted swing at him, swinging his own arm out to strike the Hunter in the back of the leg.

But it would be difficult to overpower the both of them.

The moment he got the one hit on the Hunter, the other Hunter was all over him.

Tenma tried to aim and fire, though his trembling affected his accuracy.

Fey must have damaged the muscle in the one Hunter's leg considering he stayed down for a while, but it was the second Hunter who posed the problem now. He'd grabbed Fey by the wrists, squeezing in an attempt to make Fey drop his weapon. But the shorter greenette pushed his feet off the floor, smacking the top of his head into the Hunter's chin.

The Hunter stumbled back, and Tenma fired – finally hitting his target.

The bullet pierced him in the leg, enabling Fey to finish the both of the grounded Hunters off with a gruesome blow to each of their skulls.

The ex-Firefly took a deep breath, sweat breaking out on his forehead. He wasn't sure if it was because of blood loss, exertion, or the high amounts of adrenaline. Either way, he was beginning to feel faint.

His mind felt just remotely foggy, but he tried to ignore it, turning to Tenma. Minty eyes searched him, ensuring that he wasn't suffering any horrendous injuries. It appeared that a bullet had just grazed his cheek considering there was a deep cut there, though it didn't seem that any had actually struck him.

Either way, they had no time to catch their breath as the footsteps from the stairwell neared.

Fey readied himself, taking a deep breath before dropping his lead pipe and letting it hit the floor, instead preparing a molotov cocktail from the last of the alcohol he and Saryuu had shared on the beach. Hopefully there would be enough for the flames to spread.

"Welcome to hell," Fey muttered before tossing it into the stairwell just milliseconds before the Hunters would come into view as they rounded their way onto the final landing.

Hopefully, this would burn the rest of them alive.

* * *

"Shit!" Saryuu's distress was evident as he hissed, "Every Hunter who's in the cinema will have heard that gunshot! We need to draw some of the attention away, otherwise they'll be overwhelmed." He frantically began to load the assault rifle he'd obtained, his concern for Fey eating away at him.

Tsurugi didn't admit such, but his own unease for Tenma led him to suggest, "So long as _we _aren't overrun, what do you say we blast that thing in the next theatre? That should grab their attention."

"The assault rifle?" he peered down at it, nodding, "Ooh, I was planning on it."

They hurriedly made their way to the only theatre that they hadn't yet checked. Theatre seven. Just as they made it to the entrance, a group of six Hunters was rushing from it having heard the gunshots from upstairs. But the appearance of Saryuu and Tsurugi made them freeze in their tracks.

"W-what the!? Sunuva bitch!"

The Hunter in the lead raised his firearm, though Saryuu was faster.

In a matter of seconds, the entire group of Hunters were penetrated by the bullets that sprayed from the assault rifle at a rate that was impossible to keep track of.

It was all over in seconds, but the sound had been blaring and deafening.

He wasn't sure if maybe it was because of his concussion, but Saryuu felt more sensitive to the piercing sound then he usually did, and his ears rang madly. Gunshots were always deafening, but never had one seemed to vibrate through him so completely, leaving his head feeling numb and light.

Saryuu shook it off, turning away from the pile of bloodied bodies that lay in a heap on the floor. One groaned, still alive. But Saryuu had watched as they'd filled with holes. He'd die of blood loss, whether he was clinging to life for a few more moments or not.

"Where do you suppose the stairway for the second floor is?" Saryuu asked Tsurugi as they made their way back out into the lobby. The Hunters on their floor were most likely all taken care of considering they'd already dealt with those in the lobby, and in the right sided hall. They depended on Shindou to cover the left, so all that remained were the areas covered by Fey and Tenma. "We can back Fey and Tenma up, by this point, I think it's safe to say. Besides, if our little show did happen to grab anyone's attention from upstairs, we can meet them in the stairwell."

Tsurugi looked towards the 'employee only' door from before, walking in it's direction. "Hunters came through here earlier. It's the only other path we haven't checked yet, so I'd assume it links up with the storage room that Fey and Tenma came in through."

"Fair point," Saryuu said as he stepped inside, scoping out the new area curiously. He could see a sign indicating the stairwell's position at the end of the hall. Hastily making their way down the narrow passage, they passed by a small lounging room of sorts. Saryuu took notice of the two gory corpses that lay within. One's skull was crushed, his blood pooled around him as the second had clearly suffered death by strangulation.

"That's Fey's work," Saryuu mentioned as they made their way up the stairs, "He was definitely here, and if he's gained enemy attention, he's going to be highly alert. If we're not careful, he'll kill the both of us if we don't approach with caution."

Tsurugi nodded his head – a shallow motion that displayed his acknowledgement.

As if on cue to his prior comment, the moment they rounded the final landing and reached the last strip of stairs before locating their way to the top, Saryuu just barely gasped before promptly diving back towards the direction they came and knocking Tsurugi over in the process.

Fey's molotov burst into a fierce blaze, consuming the spot they'd been only seconds ago. Saryuu could feel it's ferocity against his legs for only a fraction of a moment, as he only began to grow further and further away from it's explosive heat as he violently tumbled down the stairwell, limbs entangled with Tsurugi's. Each thump to his head was like an electric shock, and he could feel as disorientation consumed him.

Cries came from the both of them until they reached the landing that indicated the half-way point.

Even once at a standstill, he couldn't bring himself to process what had happened, nor move. His mind was numb and blank, the dizziness so nauseating even when he just simply lay there.

He hardly even felt it when Tsurugi began to lightly shake him. Instead, he slipped away into unconsciousness, blacking out.

* * *

"Saru!"

Fey had caught a glimpse of his partner just after he'd whipped his molotov cocktail into the air. His mind reeled with panic as he watched the flames erupt within the stairwell, dancing madly before his horrified gaze.

He hadn't been hit, or at least as far as Fey could tell. Both he and Tsurugi had disappeared down the stairs, their pained cries signifying the fact that they'd descended via a fall. Their voices had now ceased, and any traces of their stirring was nonexistent.

"Saru!?" Fey called, heading down the stairwell once the molotov's flames had died, leaving nothing behind but a black, charred surface.

Once the other two were in view, Tenma hurried to Tsurugi's side. The dark haired boy knelt next to a motionless Saryuu, and Fey was quick to join him on Saryuu's opposing side. He looked him over, sick with dread that was clearly written all over his face.

Fey swallowed thickly, rolling Saryuu over onto his back. It didn't seem he had any broken bones, but his lip was split and his bandages seemed to be absorbing fresh blood, though nothing like before. Droplets of blood from the greenette's bullet wound dripped onto Saryuu's face, which had startled Fey into thinking that Saryuu was bleeding from somewhere else as well. But he was quick to realize the truth, merely attempting to wake the boy in a hushed tone and soft touches by this point.

"How are you, Tsurugi?" Tenma watched as Tsurugi stood up from his kneeling position, worry written in his brow. Though he appeared quite relieved as he observed Tsurugi stand with little difficulty. "You weren't hurt, were you?"

Tsurugi shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant so that Tenma wouldn't worry. "I think I might have just sprained my wrist," he mentioned coolly. It ached a bit, and a sharp pain followed when it was in motion. But at least it wasn't broken, nor had it been his dominant hand. Tsurugi seemed to be eyeing the gash in Tenma's cheek before changing the subject, "What about you? That cut looks like it could need stitches."

"I'm fine, but we should do something for Fey," Tenma's crease of concern returned to his facial features as he looked towards Fey, "He was shot, and he's still bleeding."

Fey shook his head, his eyes fixated on the sleeping face of his partner, "No. I'll manage until we're finished here. It might still be dangerous."

"I don't think so," Tenma frowned, "All of that noise would've attracted them here, right? But no one's come."

"Unless they're in hiding," Tsurugi finished, "They might be hoping to surprise attack us..." He didn't know how many more there could be at this point, but it was very possible that the Hunters were more then aware of their current position. Lying in wait with their remaining numbers would be the smart thing to do.

At that, a whimper escaped Saryuu's lips and his eyelids began to flutter.

"Saru?" Fey called his name hopefully, all focus on the stirring boy.

He went to place a hand on his shoulder to let him know that he was there with him, but Saryuu's movements were abrupt. Fey pulled his hand back, dread coursing through him all over again as Saryuu bolted upright, the extreme amounts of nausea that bombarded him in an overwhelming wave forcing him onto his hands and knees.

There wasn't any food in his stomach, but he heaved regardless, vomiting up digestive juices instead.

Tenma knelt down to rub the white haired boy's back. Fey joined them, shuffling closer and clasping a hand over top of Saryuu's knuckles.

Saryuu coughed before finally lifting his head as the worst of it passed. He rested his back against the wall, and it was more then obvious that every motion only caused him to feel all the more sickly. But he managed to speak in a strained voice, his violet orbs groggily taking in Fey as the greenette settled in front of him.

"You're here," he tried to reach out and touch the ex-Firefly, but his arms were too weak, laying limply at his sides instead. "...Fey."

Fey forced a weak smile.

"Did we do it? Are all of the Hunters dead?" Saryuu continued. He paused in wait for Fey's answer, but it was then that his eyes locked with the blood smudged on Fey's shirt from his shoulder wound. Purple eyes dilated and despite the weakness in his muscles, he forced his hand against Fey's shoulder. Bright red blood came off onto his fingertips, worsening his panic.

His thoughts reeled, and he couldn't keep from fearing that Fey would die on him. Those he cared for always perished, and he couldn't keep from picturing Meia and Giris at the sight of Fey's blood. He hadn't cared for anybody since Meia and Giris... He wasn't supposed to endure this anymore. He wasn't supposed to feel the pain of witnessing a loved one in such a state. Not again.

"What happened!?" Saryuu demanded, his voice shaky. Fey would have mistaken it for the white haired boy's sickly state, though so clearly saw the hysteria in Saryuu's violet eyes. "Fey, are you okay!? How do you feel? Do you feel okay?"

He desperately needed the reassurance.

"Saru," Fey encased Saryuu's raised hand between his two palms, guiding it away from where it was becoming tainted with his blood. He'd never seen Saryuu appear so flustered before. "I'm fine. It looks worse then it is. I promise. Right now you need to focus on taking care of _yourself_."

"No... no you're _not_ fine," his face twisted with worry. Though the concern was replaced by a clenched jaw and eyebrows that furrowed downward bitterly when he hissed, redirecting his speech towards Tenma and Tsurugi, "Why haven't either of you idiots patched him up!? Must I do everything myself!?" He tried to stand up in an attempt to treat Fey, though the movement only triggered more vomiting.

"Saru..." Fey pressed his lips together tightly as he brought a hand to Saryuu's back and began to rub it in hope that it would soothe him. When it passed, and Saryuu fought to catch his breath, Fey helped him sit back up against the wall, murmuring to him, "I'll wrap something around it for now, and then I'll be sure to get it properly cared for once it's safe. Okay? The Hunters will have plenty of medical supplies stashed away, I'm sure. So I'll be just fine."

He wasn't sure what it was he was doing, but seeing Saryuu so overtaken by his worries was somehow overwhelming. He'd never seen Saryuu so overcome with dread. Regardless, Fey automatically found himself brushing Saryuu's bangs back gently, leaning in to plant a light kiss over his forehead before he withdrew from him and stood back up.

"I'll be right back. I won't be long."

He hoped that it would reassure him, and he knew of the actions comforting effect as his papa had often done such to him.

"We need to finish this," Fey said as he joined Tenma and Tsurugi, "Where's Shindou? Do you think he's taken out the remainder of the Hunters?"

"I'll check on him," Tsurugi offered, "The last time we saw him, he was clearing out the left hall on the lower floor."

Fey nodded, "Okay. I'll sweep the remainder of this floor." He turned to Tenma. "Tenma, could you please stay with Saru? I think he's suffered a second concussion. He can't fight like this."

Tenma smiled warmly, eyes flickering to the dazed, snowy haired boy, "Of course."

Before splitting up, Fey took a cloth from his bag and tied it firmly around his shoulder. With the adrenaline in his blood declining, he was beginning to feel a lot more aware of the bullet wound and the excruciating burning sensation that it caused him. He hissed through his teeth as he knotted the cloth, ensuring that it was tight enough to cease the bleeding. But he swallowed any cries, putting on a strong front for Saryuu's sake.

Reluctantly, with his final 'I'll be back soon' to Saryuu, Fey climbed back up the stairwell, his rifle in his hands just in case he needed it. He hadn't explored the top floor much – only it's opening that followed after coming up from the stairs. From there, the floor seemed to be made up of a bunch of different hallways, the one he currently resided in merely circling around the building until he was brought back to the stairs. On either side of the said circle, were separate hallways that led to the Projection rooms.

Fey chose to inspect the eastern side of the building first, travelling down the hallways that housed projection rooms five to eight.

Five was pretty empty, asides from some broken equipment that must have served some sort of purpose to the cinema back before the pandemic hit.

It was when Fey stepped into projection room six that he found where the last (possibly) group of Hunters hid in wait.

Seven of them.

There was no way that he could take on seven full grown adults with only four bullets, no opportunities for stealth, and on his lonesome. But whether his chances were poor or not, it was to kill or to be killed. And right then, he didn't have much of a choice but to engage as weapons were raised.

He quickly determined which Hunters posed the greatest threat, his rifle shattering the silence and stillness between them as he took the first shot. When the largest member of the remaining Hunters sagged to the ground, a bullet wedged into his forehead, shots were returned and Fey took shelter behind the wall.

Splinters flew into the air, and the sheer force of the assault rifle was intimidating. His ears rung, but the moment he gained the chance, he exposed himself for just a long enough amount of time to fire a second shot which took down the Hunter with the deadly assault rifle. Though the harsh sounds of the second assault rifle filled the air around them as Fey was forced to shield himself behind the wall again.

"Come out, fucker! You're fucking dead!"

Fey licked his lips in concentration, ignoring their resounding taunts. The next time their assault calmed, the greenette fired the last two bullets that he had, downing two more with them. He kept his rifle poised in order to give off the impression to the remaining three that he wasn't empty.

"Give up!" Fey took a step towards them in an attempt to seem more serious, and maybe even intimidating, "Or I'll shoot you too!"

The Hunters eyed him warily, though the longer their gazes lingered, the more uneasy Fey could feel himself becoming. It felt as if they could see right through him. He bit at the inside of his mouth, his features tensing as a smirk crossed the lips of one of the Hunters.

"You're a shitty liar," he noted, somewhat breathless from his previous unneeded fear, "He's empty! You can read it on his face!"

He _had _always been a lousy liar.

Knowing that all hell was about to break loose, Fey rapidly tossed his rifle to the floor and snatched up a nearby liquor bottle. His rifle was useless to him, and his actions needed to be instant if he hoped to hold his own against three Hunters who were nearly twice his size, and possibly twice as strong as he was.

The greenette twisted his arm, whirling the bottle through the air before it made contact with the nearest approaching Hunter's face. It shattered, glass pieces piercing his eyes and impairing his vision – or so was what Fey assumed considering he screamed, his hands flying up to cover his face as he continued to bellow in agony. Blood seeped between his fingers as he continued to claw at himself.

An instant later, Fey leaped to the Hunter's side, silencing him as he brought his lead pipe down upon him, smashing his head in. Fey thought that he'd have time to leap across the center table and hopefully dodge the second and third Hunters as he worked at hitting any vital points, though they must have been faster then he thought considering the moment he painted the floor with the first Hunter's brains, he was captured in a chokehold.

"You're gonna pay for that!" the Hunter growled into his ear, his arm tightening against Fey's windpipe. The greenette's legs kicked empty air as he struggled, the faintest whimpers coming from him. His grip miraculously remaining around his pipe, Fey threw his arm back and managed to jab his elbow into the side of the Hunter's neck.

The grip around him weakened just enough for him to squirm out of it. He stumbled away clumsily, quickly working at solidifying his stance so that he would be prepared for when they swooped upon him again. But before he could catch himself, the third Hunter yanked him by the wrist, and he lost his grip on his lead pipe. It clacked to the floor as the Hunter spun him around and sent his clenched fist into Fey's gut.

Fey gasped, stiff fingers clutching at his stomach as he tried to catch his stolen breath. He sagged to his knees, though the Hunter who had sent him to the ground in the first place was quick to snatch him up by the hair. Fey yelped, clenching his teeth afterwards in order to silence himself. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of his pained cries.

The other Hunter had already recovered, joining his friend at his side before taking Fey for himself and tossing the boy over his shoulder once prying his bag from him and casting it across the room. The greenette weakly struggled, though his lungs burned all over again as he was roughly tossed onto the center table, his spine colliding with it's surface painfully.

Frenzied spearmint orbs raced around the projection room, or at least what he could manage to see from where he lay on the table, paralysed as he wheezed in his effort to simply reclaim his breath. There had to be something... something in their current environment that Fey could use to his advantage. But all that he could see was useless machinery.

_'Two left! There's just two left!' _Fey urged himself, '_Come on! You can do this!' _

But at this rate, his life was completely in their hands. They were physically stronger then he was, and each Hunter stood at the end of the table, one pinning Fey's wrists as the other held down his legs. He was completely vulnerable to them, and as much as he writhed and squirmed, it was too apparent how feeble he was against them.

They hardly even budged, and he could feel just how locked in place his limbs were.

"C'mon, kill him already!" the Hunter who imprisoned Fey's wrists snapped.

The one at his legs seemed to be looking him over, his gaze discomforting to the greenette. There was an eerie gleam within them. "It'd be a waste. He isn't half bad looking," A whine just barely escaped Fey, and he clenched his jaw at the sound of the Hunter's voice. He thought he might be sick as unease knotted his stomach."We should bargain him to some procurer in one of the quarantine zones. They like them young."

Fey could feel it as the other's hands squeezed more tightly around his wrist as he furiously protested, "This fucking kid murdered a ton of my friends! They were _your_ friends too! I want him to suffer and die! We should torture him, and refuse to kill him until he can't even beg for it anymore! I'll make him lose his voice, he'll scream so fucking much!"

"Whatever, I really don't care what happens to him," the Hunter at his legs shrugged his shoulders, that disturbing gaze still fixated on him – flickering over his form. "Let me have my own fun with him first, then you can do whatever you want."

Fear bubbled within him at the possibilities of what may or may not happen, but regardless, Fey seized the opportunity when he saw it.

His lips quivered as the Hunter at his legs advanced on him, trying to crawl over top of him. The steady hands left his imprisoned legs, giving him just enough time to raise them and lock them around the Hunter's throat in a triangle hold.

The ex-Firefly wasn't sure on whether he would be able to maintain it or not, but it'd proved to be a rather pleasing distraction considering his other captor released his wrists, intending to beat on the boy until his Hunter friend was released. But Fey bounced up, releasing his legs from around his hostage just before the other brought his fists down on him. Instead, his fists smashed into the table where Fey's head had been resting only seconds ago.

From there, Fey leaped from the table, bringing joined fists of his own upon the base of the neck of the Hunter who'd been captured between his legs only moments ago. The blow wasn't the strongest, but forceful enough to make him roll off the table as he thrashed in pain, dropping to the floor and exposing his head for a swift kick that knocked him out cold.

Fey stood at one end of the table, the final Hunter standing at the table's other end. They circled one another, and Fey took the time to try and hastily think up a plan. Where was his lead pipe? If he could get to it... Or even his rifle. It was empty, but that didn't mean he couldn't use it as a blunt weapon. Anything would do by this point.

The Hunter made his move first.

He flipped the table forward, hoping for it to crash into Fey. Though the greenette jumped it, ducking the moment his feet touched the ground considering the Hunter lunged at him in another attempt for a chokehold.

He'd ducked from it, but the Hunter seemed to have predicted that, swinging his leg forward in a blow to the head that left Fey muddled. He wiped out on the floor, trying to blink away his dizziness.

But the Hunter dove on top of him before he could recover, pulling out a switch blade that he swung forward. He tried to plunge it into Fey's throat, though the green haired boy wrapped both of his hands around the Hunter's wrists, his hands trembling to keep the knife as far away from his skin as possible.

Sweat began to trickle down his face and laboured breathes escaped his lips in quiet huffs at their struggle. His muscles burned and screamed, and he was gradually beginning to lose his grip and the blade was growing ever nearer to his throat.

He didn't know how much longer he would be able to hold on for.

Blood seeped from his bullet wound at the strain, even with the clothe tied around it. He could feel himself growing more and more lightheaded at the blood loss... It only sapped his remaining strength all the faster.

Desperate by this point, Fey released the Hunter's wrists and risked an abrupt roll, escaping with only a nick to the side of his neck.

He'd been agile enough to escape with only that at least. If it'd gone wrong, his throat would've been torn open.

The ex-Firefly dizzily picked himself up, his heart hammering in his chest and sweat dripping from his brow. He watched as the Hunter also stood.

They merely eyed each other with hard gazes, until finally Fey panted out, "You know... you're the only one left. All of your friends are dead. Even if you kill me, I have partners who won't let you escape from here. Not alive."

The Hunter's eyebrows furrowed in animosity, his fist tightening around his switch blade so desperately that Fey wondered if he liked to imagine that it was his throat. "You motherfucking tourist!" he roared, his blade poised as he rushed the greenette, "I might die, but with the time that I have left, I'm gonna make you beg for death!"

Fey dodged to the side, ramming a kick into the back of the Hunter's leg.

He crumbled, and the banged up teen took the switch blade from the Hunter's weakened fingertips.

Maybe it was because he was bleeding, aching and scared. Or maybe because they'd implied to sell him to a sex slave trafficker. But either way, as he held that blade in his trembling hands, he wanted nothing more then for the threat to be gone. He didn't want to feel so weak and so frightened. He was supposed to be strong.

Terrified and resentful, Fey cried out – a sound that contained his overwhelming emotions as it filled the projection room around them – before thrusting the blade into the Hunter repeatedly. Crimson sprayed around him, splattering against his shirt and staining his pants.

He didn't stop, not until he was confident that the Hunter was dead.

The greenette's movements slowed as the anger began to fade with each blow, until finally he merely sat over top of the corpse with empty eyes. Hatred no longer burned within their depths.

He tried to stand, though crumbled to the ground through the exhaustion, blood loss and emotional turmoil.

His shoulders hunched and he pressed his lips together tightly, desperately fighting against the way his minty orbs burned. Though it didn't last when Fey broke, sobbing into his hands as the knife slipped from his fingers and clacked onto the floor below.

* * *

It was Tsurugi who found him.

The dark haired survivor rushed to his side, kneeling down next to him. "Fey!" he called his name urgently, "What happened!? Are you alright?"

The greenette's head shot up from where it'd been buried into his palms, shock swimming in those tear stricken eyes. The surprise left as quickly as it'd been there, and Fey avoided Tsurugi's golden orbs. "I'm fine. They're all dead." Tsurugi had assumed as much, based on the many bodies that littered the floor.

Fey stood up, roughly wiping at his tear stained face with his elbow. He began to retrieve his things, such as his backpack, rifle and pipe. Before leaving, he made quick work of the Hunter who he'd merely rendered unconscious.

"How's Saru?" Fey asked flatly, clamping his hands around the straps of his bag.

Tsurugi joined his side, unwilling to press for answers as to why he had been huddled on the ground like that. They had more important matters to discuss, though Tsurugi did admit, that he was a bit concerned. But so long as Fey wasn't hurt. Performing a double take on him, Tsurugi couldn't spot any bad injuries that hadn't been there the last time he'd seen him. His shoulder still needed tending to, but from what he could see, that was the worst of it.

"We found where they stash their supplies," Tsurugi noted, "It's in projection rooms seven and eight. Tenma and Saru are in there right now. Saru's still a bit dazed, but he seems better then he was."

"And what about Shindou?"

Tsurugi's facial features turned grim. "...I don't know. We still can't find him."

Fey's eyebrows knitted together as he remembered a Hunter mentioning something about keeping an eye out for anymore tourists. He'd insisted that his men not 'miss anymore.' Back then, Fey had wondered if maybe one of them had been caught and possibly killed...

Oh god. That hadn't been Shindou, had it?

"We still haven't checked the western hall containing the other projection rooms, so I'm hoping he'll be down there," Tsurugi didn't sound all too hopeful, however. Fey could read the dread in his golden orbs. The dread of finding the lifeless body of a loved one...

That could also mean that there'd be more Hunters, too...

"I'll come with you," Fey offered, squeezing his fingers around his lead pipe.

The two ventured to the other side of the building, searching through the other projection rooms. Luckily all were empty but projection room three.

Blood coated the floors, paired with six or so bodies.

Considering the other four hadn't been down here, it'd been Shindou who massacred this group. It had to have been him.

Their curiosity was confirmed, and their hearts sank in their chests when they spotted Shindou among the bodies, unmoving.

Fey could only watch as Tsurugi numbly approached, kneeling down next to him before delicately reaching out to touch him – almost as if doing so would wake him.

"Tsurugi..." Fey hardly breathed, "...I'm sorry."

Losing somebody important to you was hard... He knew that more then anyone, yet he couldn't seem to muster anything but a stupid 'I'm sorry.' He bit the inside of his lip, peering down at the floor with bitter eyes.

"No," Tsurugi's tone sounded lighter then it should have, "He's not dead."

Denial.

Fey had been the same back then.

But Tsurugi insisted, "No, really. He's just out cold."

Fey blinked at that, accompanying Tsurugi at Shindou's opposite side. He dropped down onto his knees, gingerly placing the tips of two fingers against the surface of Shindou's throat in order to check for a pulse.

He was both shocked and relieved once he found one.

It seemed he was merely unconscious, and based on the angle at which his leg sat, it was broken. The pain from that (as it appeared he'd tried to drag himself across the surface of the floor), had probably been enough to cause him to black out.

After checking the building for any more Hunters one last time, Fey and Tsurugi made their way back to the supply room and crafted a hammock to carry Shindou back there.

It wasn't until they were all in the first of two supply rooms together that they searched through the various shelves for any sort of medical provisions that they could use to treat themselves. It seemed projection room seven was where the weaponry and medicine was kept, where as food was stashed in room eight.

Tenma and Tsurugi tended to Shindou's leg, and then Tenma helped Tsurugi wrap bandages around his twisted wrist. It would act as a brace of sorts, forbidding movement and ensuring it heal quickly.

Fey carefully applied stitches to Tenma's cheek afterwards, making his way over to Saryuu once he was finished.

Saryuu was happy to see Fey when the greenette approached him, fresh bandages for the snowy haired boy's head in hand. He also carried a bundle of medical items for himself. His violet eyes appeared brighter then when he had last seen him, though he still looked incredibly exhausted. It didn't seem he was nauseous anymore, at least.

"Fey," Saryuu called his name, looking him over before frowning. "Are you okay?"

The greenette sat on the floor next to him, leaning his back against the wall. "Yup," he forced a smile, though it felt a bit weak, "How about you? You should probably rest. But here – let me give you some fresh bandages first."

Saryuu didn't seem convinced, though didn't question him any further either. Instead he replied, "You're not treating me. Not until you take care of yourself."

"It won't take long," Fey protested, though he knew that he wasn't going to win this argument. He didn't feel up to it, anyway.

"Take off your shirt," Saryuu demanded, ignoring the prior comment.

Fey merely held his gaze for a few moments before sighing. He peeled his bloodied up shirt off, hissing in pain at the motion. He wasn't looking forward to this. Not at all.

Saryuu took the medical supplies, placing them next to him once he turned his body so that he faced Fey. "Take these first," he twisted open a pill bottle, letting a few capsules land into his palm before offering them to the greenette, "They're pain killers."

Fey obeyed, swallowing them thickly as Saryuu inspected the wound. He carefully untied the tourniquet Fey had made, his fingertips touching the area as lightly as a butterfly. There was both dry blood caked around it, as well as fresh blood, and Saryuu clicked his tongue at the possibility that taking out the bullet would only make Fey bleed out more. Especially if it'd wedged itself near nerves or arteries.

"I'm going to have to remove the bullet first," he noted, "There's no exit wound, so it's still in there."

Fey seemed to search his face before responding tenderly,"Does this not feel like when we first met?"

Saryuu chuckled, inserting two fingers into the bullet wound, "If you mean because I'm taking care of you, then be sure to get used to it."

Fey would have blushed, though he wound up whimpering instead as the bullet was removed from his body. Saryuu immediately applied pressure to keep blood from gushing from him. Though it seemed the bullet hadn't pierced any arteries after all, considering he didn't seem to be bleeding profusely.

That didn't keep the lightheaded-ness away, however. He was surprised he hadn't fainted ages ago.

Fey didn't say such, but maybe he'd held on because he'd been so determined to protect his partner. There was no way he would have let himself pass out when Saryuu was injured, unable to defend himself as Hunters continued to roam the premises. And he wouldn't let himself pass out now, either. Not until he'd treated Saryuu's head injury.

If Saryuu would always care for him, then Fey would always protect him in return.

* * *

It took a good few days before the two felt confident enough to head on their way.

"We would have rested up longer," Saryuu mentioned, throwing on his bag. It was heavier now that both he and Fey had crammed all they could from the Hunter's supplies within. "But it's best for both of our groups to leave this place. Who's to say if a straggler or two managed to escape. They could warn any nearby groups of Hunters, and come back with reinforcements. I suggest you leave sometime soon yourselves. They're persistent bastards when it comes to tourists who kill their own."

Shindou looked up at the two from where he sat in a chair, nodding his head towards them. "I understand. Thank you for all you've done. I don't know if we could've done this without you. Good luck to you both. Though, where exactly are you headed from here?"

They were always on the move, but there was never a specific location they strove to reach.

"We'll see once we get there," Saryuu winked, tilting his head slightly as he asked in return, "What about your group? It will be tough until your leg has healed up."

Shindou pressed his lips together before the fainest flicker of a smile lit them up. "That's the thing. Whether my leg is broken or not, it will _always _be tough." He looked towards Tenma and Tsurugi. "We've all been talking about this for a while now, but we're contemplating on seeking refuge in a quarantine zone."

Typical of a Firefly, ex or not, Fey could only frown.

"Whatever you think is best, I guess," Saryuu shrugged, his usual melodic laugh filling the air, "Though they can be quite unyielding with those of us who have lived outside of their safe zones. If they have even the slightest belief that you've been infected, they'll execute you on the spot."

"Yes... but I still think that it's our best bet right now."

Fey smiled sincerely, "Well, good luck to us both, then."

He didn't have to agree with them, but if that was what gave them hope, then never would he question it. Fey wanted nothing more then for them, especially Tenma, to live without regrets. He wanted Tenma to survive.

His heart felt heavy at their separation, but Tenma would be one such person who he remembered for the remainder of his life. He'd never forget him, even if they were to never meet again.

The greenette approached him with that thought in mind, forcing a smile as he took hold of Tenma's hand. Tenma squeezed in return, desperation in his silver eyes as he spoke with furrowed eyebrows. "Are you positive that you don't want to come with us?" He squeezed tighter. "We could discover more out about soccer together... Always have each others backs."

"Speaking of which," Fey began, his tone warm, "I wanted to thank you for saving my life. Things got a little bit crazy at that point, but it meant a lot to me. If it weren't for you... I wouldn't be here right now. So thank you..." He paused. "But I can't stay, as much as I'd love to. You'll be fine without me. You and Tsurugi will need to take care of each other now. Shindou will be depending on you both."

They remained in a locked gaze, until finally, Fey added quietly, "Please don't forget me..."

Reluctantly, the greenette leaned in and planted a soft, chaste kiss upon Tenma's mouth.

Tenma responded by taking a sharp breath through his nose, closing his eyes before tightening his fingers around Fey's hand again.

It lasted no longer then a few seconds before Fey withdrew slowly, breathing out, "Take care of yourself... Tenma."

Fey pulled away and let his hand slip away from Tenma's warm palm. He directed one last smile at him before preparing to leave. But Tsurugi halted him as he reassured the greenette, placing a hand on Tenma's shoulder. "Tenma will be fine. I'm going to protect him no matter what. I promise."

"Protect _each other_," Fey urged, departing once turning his head to steal one last glance.

The air was damp with morning dew, and the sky was pale and dim, a glowing line at the horizon hinting that sunrise was very near. The air was a little bit cool, considering not only was it dawn, but they were also at the coast. The near ocean made the air feel all the cooler. But it was a nice, refreshing kind of cool.

It helped to rejuvenate Fey's dampened soul.

He wanted to maybe go to the beach one last time before they left – to watch the sunrise there with Saryuu. They'd missed out on stargazing there, so the least they could do was watch as the sun rose into the pale blue sky, it's rays glittering against the surface of the calm ocean.

The greenette gripped at the straps of his bag, walking a bit further back then Saryuu as they followed the elevated road that they walked upon. It would lead them out of the town, and closer to their next destination, wherever that happened to be. For now, he looked towards where he could see a distant view of the water.

"Did you want to watch the sunrise at the beach before we leave?" Fey spoke into the quiet morning air, breaking the silence around them for the first time since their departure, "Who knows if we'll ever see the coast again, right?"

Saryuu didn't even turn to meet his gaze as he replied coolly, "No. We can't waste anymore time."

The ex-Firefly pressed his lips together at the cold tone of Saryuu's voice, though decided not to comment on it. Rather, he continued to look out towards the ocean, admiring the way it seemed to glisten even when it seemed so far away. If Saryuu was feeling sour for whatever reason, then it was best that he leave him alone anyway.

The snowy haired boy had never been especially gifted in expressing his feelings, and so Fey wondered if maybe Saryuu was also disheartened at their departure. Or perhaps he was mad with him...

Apparently, cold shoulder or not, Saryuu had been expecting some sort of reaction from the other considering he spoke moments later having not received said reaction. "I'm stunned that you didn't stay with them." All nonchalance was gone, his tone now dripping with some form of bitter sarcasm.

"Saru, are you mad at me?" He didn't have to ask. He could basically feel it. That previous tone aside, Saryuu had been giving off ill vibes since they'd left.

Fey quickened his pace to walk at Saryuu's side, though the boy still refused to meet his eyes, regardless. "I just figured you'd miss Tenma."

"Were you jealous of Tenma?" Fey's eyes narrowed as he tilted his head at him in a way that indicated his desire to look into Saryuu's face as they spoke. It was mild, but Fey's voice rose with a sliver of defensiveness. "It isn't as if we find other friendly survivors that often."

Saryuu was usually rather composed. It made him seem quite scary when he was angered, but he didn't seem so right then, at least. Though his voice was filled with warning. "I _**was not**_jealous. I appreciate that they were there to aid us, but we're more then capable of taking care of ourselves. We could have managed on our own, if we had to. Besides, all they gave us was numbers. Compared to us, their weaponry was contemptible." He took a deep breath before adding coldly, "Besides, it isn't as if I need other survivors around..."

_I just need you, Fey._

"Oh?" Fey stopped in his tracks, sad eyes fixated on Saryuu's back. Saryuu realized upon the sound of only his own footsteps, turning around to face the greenette once coming to a standstill a few steps away. The dawning sun now peeked from the horizon, washing the world in orange. Fey was striking in it's light as it hit his back and set his hair ablaze. "If you don't need others around, then what about me?"

Saryuu frowned, wishing that there was some way for him to convey his feelings without having to word them. He felt sour that Fey couldn't tell just how much he needed him. Maybe such a desire made him spiteful. Or maybe he really was meant to be alone, considering conversations that revolved around him needing to express his feelings always flustered him. But all he could do was utter, "_You're_ the one who begged to stay with me. Don't confuse the two."

"There you go saying that again!" the melancholy remained, but Fey's voice rose in volume, thick with emotion, "I thought that maybe that had changed by now... that maybe you _wanted _me around. But I guess you don't need me after all, do you? I wanted to stick around to repay a debt. But you'd be just fine on your own."

Saryuu shot back, his words heavy with sarcasm despite his icy tone,"Now, don't sound _too _desperate to turn back and re-evaluate your decision on whether you should accompany Tenma and his group or not."

"Right," Fey responded to such insensitivity with bitterness, his eyes narrowing as he lowered his gaze and glowered down at the cracked cement beneath his feet. There was what could have been a developing hyacinth flower protruding from a crack in it's dirt caked surface, it's array of lemon coloured petals swaying back and fourth in the early morning breeze. Fey found himself eyeing it as he growled. "You're not jealous nor possessive at all."

Fey wouldn't coddle him. Saryuu knew that. Of course he wouldn't reassure him that he wouldn't leave, instead snapping back with just as much sarcasm in his voice. He knew that, yet something within him snapped at those mocking words.

"Shut up!" he yelled through gritted teeth, swinging his arm out to emphasize his frustration. His voice shook, and he desperately wished he could stop, but the words wouldn't stop once they sharply left his parted lips. "I thought that you were going to leave! Can you blame me!? You and Tenma hit it off so well, and even I couldn't deny how happy he made you." His tone grew weaker the more he spoke, until he finally finished in a harsh murmur. "Besides, you were completely flirting with him."

Green-blue eyes tentatively rose from the ground to search Saryuu's face, taking in all of the emotion that was written upon it – the way his jaw was clenched, his hands balled into trembling fists at his sides, and the way his brow was tense with irritation regardless of the way his violet orbs displayed all of his heartache and regret.

Fey closed the space between them, reaching out to take hold of Saryuu's hand. He had callouses, and his skin was still cracked in places from the winter, but nothing compared. Saryuu felt so warm. "I chose _you_," the greenette spoke firmly, his eyes lingering on their joined hands before he stared at Saryuu steadily."Of course I'd choose you! I care about Tenma. But that doesn't mean that I think any less of you, Saru. You saved me." He grew more sheepish at his next statement, flushing only slightly as his eyes flickered anywhere but at Saryuu's own violet gaze. "I don't know... Tenma also looks like you, and I guess I liked that." Uncertainty taking over, he began to gradually release Saryuu's hand. A weak smile found it's way to his lips, but all of his other facial features began to fall. "Plus... he never pushes me away or makes me feel unwanted. Sometimes I can't even tell if you actually want me here, or if I really am just being dragged along because I 'begged' you for it..."

Saryuu inhaled sharply, taking hold of Fey's chin so that he could tilt his head up and force him to meet his violet eyes. Fey's eyes widened at the action, searching Saryuu's face again – searching for his intention. "You're not unwanted, Fey. Far from it." Saryuu's thumb just barely rubbed it's way along Fey's jawline. "I may not be open with you, but you're not open with me either. We both push each other away, but I'm okay with that, so long as I know you'll never leave me." Desperation hung in those words. "I can't be alone, Fey. You may have promised that you will never die on me, but now I'm making you promise never to leave me, either. You've said it countless times: that I've saved you. If that's how you feel then promise me that you'll stay by my side for the rest of our lives."

Saryuu paused, leaning in closer, "You owe it to me."

Fey could feel his partner's warm breath against the surface of his lips. He could feel his heart racing in his chest underneath those alluring eyes that seemed to be searching his face, a gleam in them that caused his stomach to flutter and for a shiver to run down his spine.

They remained where they stood, locked in place for several agonizing seconds before Saryuu finally pulled away, the skin where Saryuu's fingers had been tingling as the touch slipped away from him.

"Come on," Saryuu offered a hand to him,"You wanted to watch the sunrise from the water's edge, right? We should get going."

Fey remained in place for a few lingering moments, disappointment shutting him down. But recovery didn't take long, not when he was relieved at Saryuu's words. That was far more significant to him then any anticipated act of affection between them. All he needed to know was that Saryuu wanted him to stay by his side, always.

Fey abandoned his insecurities, locking their promise as he took hold of Saryuu's hand.

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading! I hope you all liked it. Haha, btw - a lot of the quotes used by the Hunters were from the actual game. And my friend personally asked that I include the bacon conversation for him. xD So you can thank him for that one. I can just imagine Fey and Tenma trying to keep their presence hidden, but they're having too hard a time keeping their snickers from sounding. lol **

**Please review, if you can~ **


	5. Ch4 To Mend the Moon

**Hey! Again, thank you to all of my readers and those of you who took the time to review. **

**Umm, I don't know what to say about this chapter, asides from the fact that it wasn't even supposed to exist. Haha, I kinda wrote it and added it last minute considering I was feeling depressed, and I wanted to write something somewhat fluffy to cheer myself up. So I'm sorry if it's a bit crappy. Or something. I don't even know. **

**Regardless, I hope you all enjoy~ **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inazuma Eleven (otherwise SaruFey would be canon), or The Last of Us. **

* * *

**Chapter Four – To Mend the Moon**

* * *

_July 2032 (SUMMER)_

* * *

_Fey blinked up at the bland ceiling of his room, huffing as he lost count of the spackle that he'd been counting in a lame attempt to overcome his boredom. He'd been strictly ordered to stay in his room, but it would have been nice if the Firefly members had at least provided him with something that would pass the time. _

_If he hadn't lost Robin the other week, then maybe he would have been able to occupy himself, but without even his stuffed toy, he found himself restless. _

_It was more then obvious to Fey that his papa, Asurei Lune, had given the order to have him locked away, too. Which also indicated that papa had returned back to base from the mission he'd been out on. _

"_How nice of him to come and see his son," Fey sat up from where he'd laid down on his bed, pressing his lips together sourly. "I wasn't worried or anything." Despite the pouty words, Fey understood that his papa had been so occupied with the Fireflies recently considering the war between both them and FEDRA had intensified as of late. _

_The military was winning the war, and the Fireflies were beginning to dwindle... _

_Out of worry, Asurei had been keeping Fey cooped up at the Firefly base more often. Fey couldn't even recall the last time they'd taken him out on a mission. Things were getting pretty bad, and really, Fey wasn't anymore angry with his dad then he was worried about him. _

_Fey wished his papa had let him accompany him, so that he could at least keep an eye on and protect him. _

_But the excuse was always: 'I'm the parent. I'm the one who needs to protect you, Fey. I'm not trying to punish you by keeping you at the lab. I'm doing such to keep you safe.' _

_He'd already lost Kinako. He wouldn't lose his son, on top of that. _

_Fey shook the typical response from his father out of his head. It was one thing to keep him from going out on missions, and another to keep him imprisoned in his room. What was it that his papa had to hide? Especially considering he hadn't even seen him since he'd returned. And it wasn't as if they were under attack, either. At least from what Fey could gather. It was too silent for that. _

_The greenette stretched before leaving the mattress of his bed. Orders or not, he figured whoever had been stationed outside of his room had long ago determined that Fey wouldn't cause any trouble. They'd probably left, confident that Fey would obey daddy-dears wishes... _

"_Pfft, nope," Fey laughed bitterly at the thought, wandering over to his door. He opened it, peering down the hallway. Their base, the Firefly lab, had been made within a hospital, so the hallways were narrow and eerie. There were plenty of windows that allowed for the light from outside to filter inside, at least. There was electricity in some areas of the building, however. Fey figured that it was either due to the hospital once being under FEDRA's control, or because there was a working generator available to them. _

_He slipped through the doorway, carefully listening for any sort of activity among the other Fireflies. But it really did seem as if they'd wandered off, figuring that Fey wouldn't come out of his room, anyway. _

_It wasn't until he made it into another wing of the hospital building that he rounded a corner and nearly smacked right into another one of the Fireflies. But Fey stumbled back just in time, blinking eyes peering up at the other. _

"_Oh, hey, kiddo," the Firefly smiled down at him sheepishly before adding in a questioning tone, "Aren't you supposed to be staying in your room?" _

_Fey had always been a bad liar... _

_He chuckled awkwardly, his gaze flickering to the floor as he jammed his hands into the pockets of his baggy hoodie. He just barely shrugged his shoulders. "...No. I'm free to go now," he added curiously, re-meeting the other's eyes and narrowing his own slightly as he tilted his head a bit. "But have you seen my papa? He wanted to talk to me about something, apparently." _

_The Firefly must been a bit of a dunce considering he didn't show any signs of suspicion in the least. Maybe he'd hit his head a few too many times throughout their hectic battles and such... "Nah, I haven't seen your dad around since he left last week. I saw Fudou heading upstairs though. To the OR, I think. Hiroto and Midorikawa were with him, so that's my guess. He'd probably know where to find your dad." _

"_Thanks," Fey made a small movement with his lips that was supposed to be a smile as he passed by, heading for the nearest stairwell. He climbed their steps, all too familiar with them. How could he not be when it was all he had access to? Papa was too fickle with what he was allowed to do, and where he was limited on going... _

_He passed by a few more Fireflies on his way to the OR, sneaking past a few groups who stood around chatting, and only speaking when spoken to. No one questioned his presence, anyway. _

_Fey peeked into examination rooms he passed, keeping his eyes peeled for Fudou – or maybe he'd even stumble across his papa and save himself all of the trouble of tracking him through other people. _

_But when he finally did catch a glimpse of his papa, his blood ran cold in his veins and he needed to stare for another moment before he could even process what he saw before him. Wide eyes stared from the doorway, locked on the motionless body that was restrained to the lab table. _

_It was his papa... except that it wasn't. He was almost unrecognizable... _

"_Papa?" Fey barely breathed, but the terrified murmur still managed to gain the attention of the four Fireflies who gathered around the table. Two of them, Midorikawa and Hiroto, wore lab coats and seemed to be tending to the equipment. While a third, Natsumi, held onto a clipboard stiffly. The final member, Fudou, merely seemed to be supervising whatever the hell it was that was going on. _

"_Papa!?" Fey took a step forward, speaking more loudly as if he was calling in hopes for a response. _

_But Fudou came between them. _

"_Fey, you need to leave," he urged him, placing a hand on his quaking shoulder. _

_Fey shook his head, still fixated on his father despite the barrier that separated them. He was horrified, but he couldn't look away... He couldn't look away from the monstrous fungal growth that protruded from his papa's face, and twisted his facial features, "W-what are you doing to him!?" Fey's tone rose in volume, a tremor within it. "What are you doing to papa!?" _

_He simply stood there, shaking as he awaited a response. _

"_Fey, I'm sorry," Natsumi frantically tried to explain herself, "But this was what your father wanted. He wanted us to perform tests on him to advance our research on the infection. He wanted his life to go towards finding the cure that we -" _

"_You can't leave him like this!" Fey cut her off, a wild look in his eyes as he began to yell so loudly that they wouldn't have been surprised if the entire floor had heard him. He was seconds from completely losing it. "Can't you tell he's suffering!?" _

_Natsumi shook her head, her eyebrows furrowed as she insisted, "No! No, Fey! He's in no pain at all. He's heavily sedated. I promise you that he can't feel a thing." _

_Something within Fey snapped. _

"_Cause that's a great way to live!" Fey hissed, beginning to struggle against Fudou's hold, "He's **my **papa! Nobody thought to tell me about this!? Nobody thought I should know!? What, were you just planning on telling me that he was still on some mission!?" The firmer Fudou's grip became, the more Fey began to thrash. "And what about papa!? He never thought to say goodbye to me!? He had enough sense left to volunteer to be your guinea pig, but he couldn't bother to say goodbye to his son!?" _

_The others only gave him a sad look, which only fuelled his rage more. _

"_You can't do this to him!" he was screaming now, and he couldn't keep from squeezing his eyes shut as he could feel a second pair of hands on him after Hiroto murmured that they needed to get him out of the room. _

_It didn't matter who he scratched or hit as he was dragged from the room, tears of rage burning at his eyes as he tried to reach out for Asurei – for the man who'd tucked him into bed since before he could walk ; sing or hum him lullabies that would lull him to sleep after he'd had nightmares ; provide him with magazines that taught him of his passion – soccer. The same such passion that Asurei had introduced to him since he was young ; who'd always ensured he was safe when they were overrun by either Hunters, Infected, or FEDRA, and who'd always made sure he'd had enough to eat, even when they were lacking food... _

_They hadn't always agreed on things easily, especially once Fey had reached teenhood. The communication between them had suffered, and Fey often felt misunderstood. But nothing had ever changed the fact that he loved him... He loved him more then anything. _

"_Papa!" _

* * *

Fey awoke to the scent of smoke burning at his nose.

Groggy eyes fluttered open, fuzzily taking in the scenery around him. Trees with bright green leaves loomed over him, and he could hear the cries of birds in their treetops as they sang their early morning songs. The sky that he could make out past the leaves that swayed in the warm, morning breeze was painted a pale blue, as the sun had not yet broken past the horizon.

A thin layer of haze coated the forest floor around him, and he could feel it in the air's humidity that it was going to be a hot, summer's day.

He twisted his head around to peer at the blue tinged smoke that rose from the campfire that he'd crafted the night before. The flames had long since died, but the smell of scorched wood continued to hang in the air, filling his nose with it's strong scent.

"Why, good morning," a musical voice sounded from the opposing side of their former kindling, "I take it you slept quite nicely. You were so still, I was beginning to worry." He laughed, a sarcastic sound that expressed the fact that he hadn't worried at all. Or at least, if he had, he was trying to cover it up. He'd had more then enough to feel concerned about, as of late...

Fey sat up from where he's been settled on the forest floor, rubbing his eyes before lazily extending an arm out so that he could claim his backpack from where it sat. He'd used it as a pillow.

"It was okay," Fey shrugged his shoulders in a sluggish motion. He hadn't been sleeping well lately, but it wasn't as if he'd advise Saryuu of it. It wasn't so much that he was having nightmares, not the way Saryuu did... But it was as if his mind wouldn't completely shut down.

Saryuu's face fell at the way Fey failed to even crack a smile, the way he usually did. He'd been this way for too long now, and Saryuu wasn't sure of what he could do to help him. He was running out of ideas. He'd just have to hope that it was a slump that Fey could pick himself out of on his own.

The snowy haired boy stood from where he'd been sitting, an energy bar dangling in his hand. He threw it over to Fey, who instinctively caught it in a sharp, swift hand movement. "Come on. Let's get out of here before the sun rises. Not only will it serve us with a spectacular view, but I'd prefer to get moving before the temperature spikes." He added, readjusting the way his purple and black bag sat on his back, "Eat that when we're on the move. It will do you good."

Fey frowned at the rectangular piece of food before tearing it from it's faded packaging. He took a hard bite out of it once he found himself on his feet. He followed Saryuu's lead, swallowing before he produced a quiet, but thoughtful, "Thanks."

They roamed through the overgrowth as Fey consumed the remainder of his breakfast, watching as the sky gradually began to light up. Pale light filtered in through the treetops, and they could both feel it upon their sweat dampened skin as the air around them grew warmer.

The forest sheltered them from the sun's rays, at least. Though they suffered the humidity that was trapped within...

Saryuu trekked a few steps ahead of the greenette, stepping over fallen tree trunks and ducking branches. He pressed his lips together tightly as he noted that Fey was being unusually quiet. It wasn't the type of silence shared between them that Saryuu often found pleasure in, either...

He'd been slowly declining into this since they'd separated from Shindou's group back in May. Maybe he really _had _been sheltered by the Fireflies. Maybe the fighting and the killing was too much a burden on his heart.

Fey wasn't himself.

He didn't smile as often, nor tease Saryuu or act as playfully towards him. Saryuu found that Fey brooded more, lost in thoughts that were incomprehensible to his snowy haired partner.

Before Saryuu and Fey had split from the other group back in the Spring, Tsurugi had informed Saryuu about how he'd walked in on Fey after he'd gone off to rid of the stragglers back at the Hunter's base. The greenette had been huddled within himself, apparently, a blood coated knife on the floor next to him. As were the corpses of many Hunters...

Not that Saryuu cared to understand every detail in the first place. He just wanted Fey to accept and come to terms with whatever conflict had been storming within him. He wanted to be able to rely on him as a partner – for Fey to not become some form of useless baggage that Saryuu regretted bringing along with him. The worst part was that Saryuu was already far too attached to give up on him, regardless of what benefited his own survival best.

But most of all, Saryuu just wanted to see the greenette beam again.

Saryuu knew that the comment he used to break the muteness between them was unnecessary, and maybe even a bit mean on his part, but he hoped that teasing him might bring out the same in him.

"You're rather quiet this morning," Saryuu began, craning his neck around so that he could steal a glance at the green haired boy who walked behind him, "Why so melancholy? Are you still moping over Tenma?"

He watched as Fey's eyes lost their detachment, widening before they flickered to the side. His eyebrows knitted together and his lips tightened. "Don't be stupid."

Silence fell upon them a second time at that, though it was only after a few steps that Saryuu wordlessly offered his tanned hand out for Fey to hold. If words did him no good, then at least he could let Fey know that he was there for him if he needed it through touch. Touch was always more reassuring then words, in his books. Feelings and attempting to express them through words was too complicated.

Fey eyed the hand quietly before their blue-green depths softened. He didn't need words to know what Saryuu's intention had been. Saryuu had been doing all sorts of little things like this since they'd departed from Tenma and the others. At first, he'd figured that Saryuu had simply been enforcing the promise they'd made. But now, especially at the 'moping' comment, it was more then apparent that Saryuu was concerned for him.

He accepted the hand's embrace gently, matching his pace with Saryuu's before squeezing lightly in a silent word of thanks.

After a few more steps, they made it out into a clearing. It was all grasslands, and a mere shabby dirt road to guide them. A tiny shed stood a few paces to their side, but it looked to have been raided long ago. Maybe it'd once belonged to bandits, or a survivor like them.

Saryuu's unoccupied hand stroked the holster of his 9mm pistol, just in case.

"... I think it's safe," Fey looked towards the shed, focusing all of his concentration into his hearing. But nothing sounded out of place. All he could hear were the sounds of the wildlife around them. "I don't hear anything."

That was a good sign, at least, considering the shed looked to have been devastated. Maybe by Infected.

"Same," Saryuu stated, violet irises sweeping the area, "But stay alert. Being out in the open like this might be dangerous." They were easy targets for anybody who could see them from the forest's edge.

Fey did the same, tugging Saryuu to a halt after they'd walked along the dirt path by a few steps. He looked out across the landscape with narrowed eyes as Saryuu turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised. "The land starts to slope," the greenette said.

"I can more than see that," Saryuu laughed, a mocking sound. Such a fact was right before him. The uneven land gave them a vast view – one that level ground couldn't ever provide them with.

"Yeah," Fey rolled his eyes, "But doesn't it look strange to you? Look harder. Grass doesn't shimmer the way water does. And look at the trees. They're submerged into the ground. It's flooded."

Saryuu still didn't see his point. Fey had merely stated the obvious. "I'm not an idiot," he took his hand back, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke. His tone oozed with a dash of his usual defensiveness. "I already noticed. Though how is it important in the least? You're willing to let a little bit of water stop you? We'll swim across. Perhaps it will be refreshing in this outrageous heat. So come on. Quit stalling."

Fey didn't follow suit when Saryuu began to walk ahead of him. He merely stayed planted where he was, feeling as the sun's rays beat down on his still form. He undid the first two buttons of his shirt, astonishment in his tone when he spoke, "Shouldn't there be a drought or something? How hasn't all of this water evaporated?"

"Well it hasn't," Saryuu responded matter-of-factly, a hint of impatience in his voice as he gestured for Fey to join him, "So let's go."

Fey had been lucky in the past.

The flooded spots they'd crossed back in the Spring had reached his collarbone at the highest, and he'd simply waded through. But right now, based on how the trees looked in the water further off, it was obvious to him that it got rather deep.

Fey had been able to keep it a secret up until now, but it seemed he no longer had a choice...

"I don't know how to swim..." he mumbled.

Saryuu twisted around, readjusting his goggles as he asked, having not heard the quiet confession considering he was located a few paces away. "Hm? What? Are you coming or not?"

Fey stared at the dirt road at his feet with a hard gaze. He could feel it as his face heated up, and the way he swelled with embarrassment told him that it wasn't from the exposure to the intense sunlight, either. "I said that I can't swim, okay!?" he exclaimed, porcelain hands balling into fists at his sides. He felt so foolish. What sort of survivor, or ex-Firefly for that matter, didn't know how to swim? The last thing he'd ever wanted was to become a burden.

Saryuu blinked over at him from where he was frozen, surprise lighting up his eyes before he laughed again, "What? Are you joking?" It took a second for him to recollect himself, and no amount of restraint could keep his lips from showing even the slightest traces of a smirk. The piece of unexpected information was clearly amusing to him in some way. It only made Fey burn more. "Did you never think to tell me sooner? It's just a tad bit important, no?"

Fey clenched his jaw. "Maybe I didn't tell you because I knew you'd make me feel like crap."

Saryuu's amusement vanished, and he closed the distance between them. "F-Fey... Don't be upset. I was only joking." He frowned, placing a finger against Fey's chin so that he could tilt his head up. He peered into Fey's sour face, his own facial features tensing at the thought that Fey couldn't even manage a joke anymore. "I'm supposed to be the sensitive one, remember?" His lips quirked up in a small smile. That's what Fey had always said about him, after all... Not that it was true, however. Not in the least.

Fey seemed to search Saryuu's face. He sighed lightly once his prior shame faded and he hesitantly nodded his head in shallow movements. He almost went to apologize for being sort of snappy with him as of late, as he must have been such considering he was lacking sleep. But he held that part in, merely saying with a forced chuckle that he hoped made him seem more like himself, "Sorry... I guess I just didn't want you to find out. It's kinda lame."

His tanned fingers slipped away from Fey's chin as he walked past him. "Clearly there's no continuing down this path. Come. Let's go back into the forest." He fanned his hand towards his face, as if the motion would ease him of the heat's mercilessness.

"So we're just gonna go back the way we came?" Fey followed after him, furrowing his eyebrows questionably as he did so, "What are we going to do? Live as forest people until the water evaporates?"

"What's this I'm hearing?" Saryuu mocked a look of shock, "Humour?"

Fey could only stare at Saryuu's back with dumbfounded eyes, his pace slowing as his brow tensed not in question of where they were headed now, but of whether he'd really been so unpleasant lately... He'd tried to hide the fact that he often found himself thinking too deeply, but he supposed he had never been very talented in hiding his emotions. He may have been stubborn in expressing them, but it was more then obvious when something was off.

For some reason, the realization that he might have seemed boring in Saryuu's eyes only discouraged him further as it too was flung into his mass of both various, and accumulating thoughts. It was frustrating. Especially when he couldn't even pinpoint what it was exactly that had been dragging him down in the first place... It felt like a bit of everything. But that only made it all the more complex.

They re-entered the forest, and Fey finally joined Saryuu at his side, wiping the sweat from his brow. It was nice to be back in the shade, and Saryuu seemed to agree considering he began to hum to himself. He continued to fan his face as he did so, however. The sun no longer seared their skin, but the humidity was incredibly dense within the growth of trees.

Fey found it soothing to simply listen to the pleasant sound. It was like a lullaby for his troubled mind.

He didn't speak again until Saryuu had gone silent, too entranced within his tune to dare to interrupt. It was then that he finally asked with a small smile, "What was that you were humming? It was lovely."

Saryuu seemed a bit startled, as if he hadn't expected the boy to comment on it. He peered back at him, shrugging his shoulders with a quiet chuckle,"I don't even know the name of it."

"Where did you hear it?"

Saryuu slowed his pace, walking alongside the greenette as he answered, "I don't remember. I've heard plenty of pieces here and there. You know – whenever I've had access to electricity and such. I can't recall a particular time."

That was strange considering Fey knew that Saryuu had always been pretty sharp when it came to matters of memory. He was so knowledgeable, and had even remembered all sorts of things he'd read about only once in a book. Name meanings, for example. Fey didn't buy it, but didn't question it either, considering Saryuu clearly didn't wish to talk about it. He never wanted to be open about anything...

"Okay," was Fey's only response.

The ex-Firefly eyed him for several lingering moments, however, the previous topic of 'memory' surfacing the reminder that he hadn't yet asked Saryuu about his concussion. He asked frequently, keeping constant progress on it.

He spoke with a fair amount of reluctance in his tone, extending a hand out so that his fingers could sweep through Saryuu's hair. He brushed it aside, examining the side of Saryuu's head – where he'd been hit by a brick back in May. It had healed, but Fey still looked out for him more then usual during each of their enemy encounters, just in case. He needed to protect Saryuu from enduring anymore head trauma.

"Can you remember the beach any better yet?" he smiled gently.

He tried to ask him at least once each day, hoping that if he talked about it everyday, that it would maybe stir a memory. That, or he at least wanted to help Saryuu in recreating it in his head.

Saryuu pushed his hand away, clasping it between his own and giving it a gentle squeeze before releasing it and letting it fall back to Fey's side. "I can remember bits and pieces," he admitted, sighing slightly, "But the time we spent with Tenma's group is fuzzy. The entire event, as well as the remainder of May are all sort of a blur to me..."

He hated for Fey to ask the same question, to only receive the same disappointing answer. And it wasn't as if it mattered anymore. The past was the past. They needed to focus on what was current.

That, and they could create new happy memories. There were always the tough times, but it was those few happy rarities in-between that Saryuu had learned to love so much. He hoped to maybe shape an opportunity for such that very day.

As if on cue, they stumbled across the area that Saryuu had spotted earlier – the place where he'd purposely guided them to.

The setting was breathtaking, but Fey didn't know how this was supposed to solve their dilemma as he took in the pond that was surrounded by large rocks and green shrubs. Larger rocks that formed a majestic cliff stood towards the back, and a stream of water gushed down from it in a small waterfall.

"We're staying here?" Fey asked curiously as he watched as Saryuu dropped his bag to the forest floor. "We really are going to camp out in the forest until the water's gone?"

Saryuu laughed – and this time it was actually a pleasant sound. "No, of course not. I'm going to teach you how to swim."

"What...?" Fey's lips parted faintly, his facial features expressing his astonishment. The warmth that swam in his eyes as he gazed upon his snowy haired partner expressed just how deeply the statement had stirred something within his heart. "Really, Saru?"

"I'm not such a bad guy after all, huh?" Saryuu grinned, pulling off his black, short-sleeved v-neck and tossing it next to his bag. Fey stealthily took a moment to admire the nicely toned, summer-kissed skin underneath. "We'll camp here until you get the hang of it."

Fey opened his mouth to give him a sincere word of thanks, but instead found himself losing his train of thought as it vanished like a puff of smoke at the distraction that Saryuu supplied him with. Saryuu had removed his shirt, which Fey had figured was influenced by the heat, but now he'd begun to kick off his jeans.

It left Fey's eyes fluttering, and he shyly looked away – giving the forest floor a hard stare as he tried to pretend as if he'd never been looking in the first place.

"Oh, you're teaching me _**right now**_?" he figured that's what the stripping must have suggested. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to get a feel for the area first or something... Maybe gather some supplies for a fire..."

His tone sounded slightly higher then normal, and he cringed as he remained where he stood, head bowed. His hands were curled tightly around the straps of his bag.

"We'll do that all later. Come, don't you want to cool off?" Saryuu removed the last of his clothing, making his way into the water. The survivor was already waist deep once Fey dared to look up, and he playfully demanded, "Hurry up, already. Undress yourself and get in."

The ex-Firefly gasped involuntarily at that, blushing wildly. "G-give me a second. You're so impatient," he mumbled, both embarrassed at the demand and at the fact that he was embarrassed in the first place. Why should he be embarrassed? Why should it matter? He began to unbutton his sleeveless, collared shirt with trembling fingers. It was made of a light material – nice for the summertime. It was orange, and the collar was white.

"What are you getting so flustered for?" Saryuu smirked from where he remained in the water, "It isn't as if this is the first time you've completely revealed yourself to me, you know."

"S-shut up! That doesn't mean you have to stare..." Fey fumbled with his shirt even more so as he desperately fought his worsening blush, "Besides, it wasn't ever _**to**__ you._"

Saryuu could only laugh melodically in response, amusement dancing in it's charming sound. Though he came to respect Fey's privacy and turned around as the greenette worked at taking the rest of his clothes off. Every few seconds, the snowy haired survivor would teasingly ask in a musical voice, "Can I look now~?" or "Aren't you ready yet?"

Fey waded through the water towards him once he was completely bared, and it's coolness was refreshing to the porcelain skin that'd been sticky from the forest's mugginess. At first, his movements were fairly clumsy against the strange texture of the rocks that dug into his bare feet at the pond's floor. They weren't so sharp where they cut into him, nor caused him pain, but it was still awkward and uncomfortable all the same.

He encouraged for Saryuu not to look yet, his tone steady as he tried to keep it serious despite the huge grin that'd plastered itself on his face. He couldn't give himself away.

Finally, when he was close enough, Fey threw his arms into the water and propelled it at Saryuu's form – splashing him playfully. He wouldn't be the only one to succumb to teasing.

Saryuu spun around, disbelief written all over him before his eyes flashed with delight and his lips turned up into a mischievous smile. With the way Fey had been lately, he hadn't expected it at all. But maybe this was what he'd needed the entire time: to have fun.

Smirking, Saryuu flicked water right back at him.

Fey raised his hands as if to defend his face, giggling as he did so. Saryuu was pleased at it's soft, innocent sound, and only continued in hopes that Fey's laughs and the way his teeth showed as he made small, cute smiles would also stay.

By the end of it, the both of them were already completely drenched – their hair dripping wet despite the fact that neither of them had gone into the water any further then their chests. Their laughter filled the air around them until it gradually settled and Saryuu asked fondly, "How about we start those lessons then, hm?" he placed a hand on the side of Fey's damp face, tucking away any dripping strands behind his ear. "I take it that you're comfortable in the water now?" How could he not be now that he was soaked?

Fey's lit irises flickered over him, his head tilted so that he did such behind hooded eyes and a faintly sly smile. "Even a water fight isn't simply play. Everything is all apart of your grand scheme, huh?"

"If teaching you how to swim helps you survive in even the slightest, then yes~" he played along, though he really would do whatever it took to keep Fey alive. That was no lie. But he _did _also want Fey to enjoy moments like these when he could.

"First, I want you to feel completely comfortable in the water. I'll be here to support you, too. So you don't need to be scared."

"I'm not _scared_... I just can't swim." the greenette emphasized the word, as if he were insulted at the insinuation. But he added in a cheerier tone, a look in his orbs that matched his very words, "Besides – I trust you."

The sentiment was a nice one, and it lightly tugged at Saryuu's mouth. It was nice to hear, especially when the boy had been... not so much himself, lately. But watching as he glowed now convinced Saryuu that Fey would definitely climb over whichever obstacle he'd smacked into.

He encouraged Fey, either way. "Typically, the two are associated. So just to be sure that there are no lingering doubts, start off by putting your head underwater."

Fey chuckled, "Making me prove my allegiance, are we?"

"Come on," Saryuu spoke gently as he tugged at the goggles that were nestled in his white head of hair and then placed them over his eyes, "I'll dive with you."

Fey nodded, fighting a smile. It wasn't until Saryuu submerged himself into the water, and then surfaced that he understood what it was that the greenette found so humorous.

Firstly, he hadn't even joined him – instead remaining on the surface where he greeted Saryuu with his giggles. Saryuu wasn't doing much better himself, yanking his goggles from his face so that they hung around his neck. "Water's leaking in," he laughed as he shook his head of the water that streamed down his face, and fought to blink away at the water that'd gotten into his eyes.

"Of course it would," Fey reached out to touch the goggles that rested against damp, tanned skin. Hints of laughter remained in his voice. "There's a crack in one of it's lenses, remember?"

"And you didn't think to remind me until _after _I went under?" Saryuu mocked upset, "Let's not forget about who was generous enough to teach you how to swim now, hm?" Violet eyes glowing with tease, Saryuu curled his hands around each of Fey's wrists. He inclined into the water, drawing Fey to his side before he kicked his legs and drew them into deeper water.

Fey struggled against him, trying to plant his feet into the pond floor. The water was suddenly at his neck, and he automatically bounced up onto his tippy toes. "Saru!" His panic was evident despite the continuous wild giggling. He'd latched onto Saryuu's arm, intimidated by the water's current depth. But his trust in Saryuu kept him from succumbing completely. Saryuu would ensure that he stay afloat. "What are you doing!?"

"Punishing you for being so ungrateful." Contradicting his own words, Saryuu drew Fey closer, letting him cling onto his shoulders in hope that it would calm his unease. He tried not to flush at the sensation of Fey's skin pressed so closely against his own. "No, but honestly I brought you out here to start with teaching you how to float. I'll be here the entire time, supporting you. So just breathe. You'll be fine."

Fey frowned, his chin resting against Saryuu's shoulder. If it weren't for his inability to swim right then, he would have been incredibly embarrassed at their closeness, as well. "Floating?" he repeated the word uncertainly.

"Yes, it's where you float on your back," Saryuu explained, his gentle hands coaxing the greenette into releasing him. From there, Fey reluctantly allowed for Saryuu to guide him into the proper 'floating' position. "Just relax your back, arms and legs. If you feel that you're sinking, be certain that they're straight."

A knot formed within the boy's stomach as he laid on his back, forced to look up into the swaying treetops and the bright, summer sky. There was something unsettling about not being able to see the body of water that he could feel caressing, and nearly engulfing him. Only his chest and face broke past the water's shimmering surface, but the knot in his stomach only worsened as he began to overflow with self-conscious thoughts.

He wasn't wearing any clothes... Just how much of him could Saryuu make out from where he was situated?... It wasn't as if the pond's water was opaque. It was dark considering it was quite deep, but when he was so close to the surface like this, could Saryuu see anything?

Fey began to sink when his muscles tensed at the humiliating thought, and he began to thrash his arms through the water in an automatic reaction before Saryuu quickly steadied him and encouraged him to relax.

Fey tried his best to obey, pressing his lips together tightly as he tried to slow the frantic fluttering of his heart.

He squeezed his eyes shut, grasping onto Saryuu's soothing words: _Just breathe. You'll be fine. _

The greenette inhaled sharply through his nose, steadily exhaling as he tried to concentrate on the peaceful sounds of the birds as they chirped and danced across the forest ; at the sound of the graceful waterfall as it's contents spilled down from the bronze tinged rocks and shattered it's way through the pond's calmer surface. He could feel it's vibrations in the water that gently rolled across his form. He could also feel the way Saryuu's hands felt against him right then as they gradually began to withdraw, tickling his bare skin as their tanned fingertips kissed it's surface.

_Breathe in... _

_Breathe out... _

"See, you're doing it," he could hear Saryuu's voice, like velvet, in his ear.

A thrilled smile flickered to Fey's lips at that, and he hesitantly opened his eyes.

Saryuu leaned over him, gazing down upon him and filling his vision. The sun struck him from behind, highlighting his damp hair and indulging Fey's notion that Saryuu was indeed his saviour.

Then that was when the self-consciousness from before slowly began to drift back towards the surface of his mind. They'd simply remained comfortably within the silence, their eyes locked until Fey broke the contact shyly. He tried to look off to the side awkwardly, though no matter where he looked, Saryuu was always there from even the corner of his eye. His cheeks dimly glowing, Fey uttered, "Hm, what now? What normally comes after floating?"

"You should probably stick to floating until you're comfortable with it," Saryuu pointed out.

But Fey quickly responded, "I _am_ comfortable."

Saryuu merely sighed, the noticeable crinkle in his brow and the way his lips were pinched together declaring his doubt. Nevertheless, he helped Fey flip back over without letting his head fall beneath the surface even once, offering a hand out to him once he was back on his tippy toes. "Take hold of each of my hands. While supporting yourself against me, position yourself as if you were laying on your stomach, and then practice kicking your legs."

Fey couldn't see Saryuu's hands, as they were concealed beneah the pond's surface, but he could feel the way their fingertips grazed his own. He acknowledged their presence, binding each of their hands together and doing as Saryuu instructed.

The greenette was poor in form at first, and he was clumsy at keeping his head above water as he kicked his legs. Water would get up his nose or into his mouth, and he would wind up coughing harshly. Once Saryuu was certain that Fey was okay, he would cackle at him every time before sharing with him how to polish his form.

Fey would claim that he was being mean, though would always end up breaking into fits of laughter himself. Maybe the old Saryuu would have seen this sort of thing (teaching someone when it didn't benefit him in the least) as a huge waste of time. Maybe Saryuu would have ditched him...

Or maybe not...

He couldn't picture himself leaving somebody all alone when he himself understood all too well how horribly cold that felt... How hopeless it left you.

Regardless, Saryuu was glad... After watching his light in the darkness beginning to dim over the past few weeks, it was nice to see him smile again. It was even nicer to know that he'd taken part in it's return.

This time, maybe if he could learn how to, he would try harder to protect it from ever dimming again.

* * *

_A few days later..._

* * *

Gurgles filled the air, followed by a shrill noise that must have been an attempt at a scream. It was bone chilling.

But Saryuu Evan's heart had long ago gone cold to such haunting sounds. Nothing slowed his motion as he plunged the blade into the Clicker's throat. It's edge formed a deep gash, severing skin and rupturing arteries before he pulled back and let the monster crumble to the forest floor.

"I freaking hate those things," Fey muttered from where he'd ducked behind a tree nearby. A shiver ran down his spine and he hugged his arms around himself as he stood.

Saryuu dropped the used shiv to the ground once inspecting it and confirming that it was now unusable. He wiped bloodied hands against the dark denim of his already blood stained jeans. "There weren't too many," he said coolly, "But I wonder where they came from..."

Fey simply shrugged as Saryuu began to search the corpse's tattered clothes.

They'd wandered further from their campsite then usual, keeping an eye out for anything useful – like anymore abandoned sheds or forest cabins. That, and they'd kept their eyes peeled for any edible plants and such.

They still had some canned and packaged foods that would last them, but little snacks for when they were on the move couldn't hurt. That, and it also helped them to reserve their packaged food more. If it came down to it, they _could_ always hunt. Honestly though, Saryuu had never discussed such things with the greenette. He wasn't even sure if Fey knew how to hunt. Saryuu could always teach him, if he needed to. But he was already teaching Fey how to swim. He could only teach him so much at a time – not that Saryuu doubted his teaching abilities.

More then anything, he just wanted to get back on track.

Having recollected themselves after the Infected encounter, the two gingerly continued. Fey carefully listened for anymore approaching Infected. Or even the most unnoticeable snap from a twig that lay on the forest floor. His eyes, however, wandered to the sky.

The humidity that had kept up that week remained. But the sun had been cloaked behind dark, thick clouds. The wind was also picking up, and he could hear it as it whistled and howled in the treetops.

They'd travelled during downpours on far more then just one occasion. When one wasn't even certain on whether they'd survive to see the end of the day, rain wasn't all too bothersome. But because they had no set location right then, and understood that they'd be returning to their campsite eventually, Fey figured it was best that maybe they head back before the storm started.

Maybe they could even take shelter within the cabin they had crossed paths with on the way there. It hadn't been much, but they'd found some ammo upon searching it. That, and several jars of jam that'd been coated in thick layers of dust.

They'd wiped one down, twisting it's lid off. But they hadn't taken any, as neither of them had been sure on whether it was still good or not. It was a shame too, as they had been so very curious about it.

The greenette opened his mouth to ask if they could go back there, the minty orbs that'd been looking up towards the sky settling on his partner. But he automatically held back when he took in Saryuu's intent form as he trudged across the forest's uneven ground.

"Don't tell me you're fixed on trying to find out where those Infected are coming from..." Fey tilted his head at a certain angle so that he could peer into Saryuu's face as they continued forward.

But Saryuu scoffed, "Of course not."

"Then maybe we should head back?"

"It looks as if there's a clearing ahead, so I figured we'd check it out first," the snowy haired survivor gestured his hands in the direction in which he was headed.

As Fey took it in, it did appear that there weren't so many trees. Maybe there really was a clearing ahead. Maybe it was a good thing. Maybe they could follow wherever it led them, and they could continue down that path, rather then go with the flooded one. But at the same time, Fey didn't want for Saryuu to stop teaching him how to swim.

It was probably selfish of him, but Fey wanted to stay where their camp currently resided. He was having fun learning how to swim, and the area seemed considerably safe, asides from the appearances of the odd group of Infected.

Even so, he could already hear Saryuu lecturing him: _'If you get too comfortable and lose your guard, you die. Besides, by sitting around in one place for too long, you're only asking for a run-in with bandits. It would only be a matter of time. No place is safe.' _

Pushing their way through the last of the trees, the pair found themselves on the top of a hill. They could feel it now, as it played with their hair and ruffled their clothes, that the wind had grown much stronger then they were capable of feeling in the sheltered forest.

Fey raised his hands, pushing away at the green hair that was wildly whisked into his face. He looked out across the land before them, his heart turning sour.

Saryuu also went rigid, stress swimming within the violet pools of his widened eyes. Fey took it as the paranoia that Saryuu often suffered. Years of survival was worthy of such.

In the distance, across the expanse of land, both sets of eyes were locked on what looked to be the daunting form of a quarantine zone. Whether it was alive, or abandoned, they couldn't establish from their distance.

It didn't seem to matter to Saryuu, as he tore his eyes away and turned to leave. "Come, Fey," he calmly commanded, in spite of the way his dilated pupils danced with what could only be fright.

Fey spun around to grasp onto Saryuu's arm, a furrow in his brow at the flash he'd spotted in Saryuu's eyes as he'd passed him. He'd seen Saryuu consumed by paranoia, but _this_... suddenly, this felt different. He was rarely so utterly avoidant.

When Saryuu stopped at the jerk of his arm, Fey's grip loosened, and he instead began to rub up and down his partner's arm with his fingertips, as if to soothe him.

"Hey," Fey began gently, closing the small gap between them as his hand continued to hover across the survivor's arm, "Why do you seem so urgent?"

"Not now, Fey!" he insisted, his tone firm and perhaps on the brink of snapping, even, "We need to leave."

But the greenette refused to yield to him. If anything, continuously being closed off by him only made Fey more persistent. "Did FEDRA do something to you in the past?" he looked at him levelly.

"Yes, I suppose they did," a laugh rose from his throat, a dark expression washing over him as he tried to chase away his earlier unease with a forced smirk. It was almost scary... Either way, it was more then clear to Fey that Saryuu wasn't taking the conversation very seriously when he said lightheartedly, "FEDRA once sabotaged my plan to have ammo smuggled to me from within their very ranks." He snatched his arm away from the ex-Firefly's touch, heading back into the forest as he shrugged his shoulders, humming, "You could say I still hold a grudge against them for that. If I saw any of them, then I'd have to kill them~"

As if on cue, a particularly strong gust of wind whipped around them, sending Fey's hair skyward as he merely stared at Saryuu's back. He could feel the first warning of rain, a few drops hitting his face and exposed shoulders.

"Saru!" he called as he broke out into a jog after him. He was enclosed by trees as he re-entered the forest, each call of Saryuu's name sounding more fed up then the last.

After stumbling around trees and being whipped in the face by countless tree branches, Fey was finally close enough to seize Saryuu by the hand a second time. Except this time, his fingers imprisoned Saryuu's wrist. Unlike the gentle touch from before, this was like steel.

"Don't just storm off in a huff!" Fey yelled, his tone nearly chastising. It wasn't until Saryuu turned his head to look at him that he noticed Fey's hurt-stricken eyes. "...You'd really just leave me behind like that? You'd choose that over being open with me?"

Saryuu twisted around roughly, prying his hand away from Fey's grip yet again. It lashed out swiftly to instead capture Fey's wrist, turning the tables on him as he hissed, "Of course not! I knew that you'd follow me... because you care about me."

"Exactly!" Fey stepped forward, his facial features tense as he seethed right back at him, "_**I care about you! **_That's why I want you to trust me! That's why I want you to be able to confide in me. I understand that you didn't want to before, but we've been fighting for our lives together, side-by-side for about five months now. I trust you to always watch my back. If you can also trust me to have yours ; and to trust me to treat you whenever you're injured ; and to guard you when you're sleeping, which is when you're most vulnerable, then why can't you trust me with your emotions? It's you and me against the world, Saru."

He paused when the rain finally began, pouring heavily from the treetops above. It only seemed to make the air around them feel all the heavier as it streamed across their skin and bled right through their clothes. It gushed through their hair, instantly soaking the strands which then clung onto their wet skin.

Fey could feel green locks sticking to the back of his neck and against his cheeks as he tried to blink away the raindrops that had gathered along his eyelashes. He added, desperation consuming his previous facial features. "...I've never seen you like this before. Please. I just want to help you."

"I'm not having this conversation with you again," Saryuu's eyebrows drew together, his tone no longer venomous. If anything, he appeared so very conflicted as he spoke loudly, though not to intimidate – only to overpower the volume of the downpour. "Now just drop it, Fey."

"Your nightmares... are they FEDRA's fault?" he asked, as if Saryuu's statement had completely gone through one ear and out the other.

"I told you to drop it," Saryuu's tone dripped with warning, his gaze hardening at Fey's inability to leave him alone. Why couldn't he just accept what he was told? He was pushing the wrong buttons, and Saryuu knew that if he continued, he'd only wind up lashing out at him. "You're really beginning to sound like a Firefly – looking to blame them for anything and everything. It's annoying."

"Why is it so hard for you to let me be there for you!?" Fey cried, struggling against Saryuu's grip now.

Saryuu clenched his jaw, a wild look flashing in his violet eyes as he shouted right back, tanned fingers only tightening around Fey's arm, "Why is it so hard for you to understand that I don't need it! I don't need you to baby me! I'm _**fine**_! I'm not some damaged soul that you need to repair, Fey! I'm your partner! How many times do I need to tell you that I'll be fine so long as I have your companionship!? The past is the past. Let it go."

But Fey shook his head frantically, "No! Being able to talk is apart of companionship! You might not need it, but _**I **_do! Communication is reassuring. So what? Maybe I'm a bit insecure. If you cared about me, then you'd -"

"Don't you dare guilt trip me!" Saryuu finally released Fey's hand, pushing it away as if it were poisonous, "You're the one who hasn't been himself for weeks! Why don't you work at fixing yourself up first, hm? I'm not accepting this crap from you!"

"You're only getting angry with me because you know that I'm right!"

Saryuu exhaled sharply, "Just shut up, Fey! This conversation is over."

"But Saru -"

"I said shut up!"

Fey's lips trembled as he bowed his head, joining his hands together tightly. Drops of rainwater dripped from his hair, and he could feel it as the rain continued to strike his already drenched form. He tried to concentrate on it, breathing in and out steadily before disobeying Saryuu's demand in a voice so quiet that the rain nearly drowned him out. "I'm not trying to make you mad... I just care about you. What's so wrong with that?"

Saryuu sighed, placing both hands on his hips. "Can we please just go back to camp?"

"Do you care about me, too?"

"That's a stupid question," Saryuu said, royal purple orbs flickering to the forest floor. It had turned to mud, and puddles formed at their feet.

Fey pressed his lips together before working up the courage to peer into Saryuu's face, which was plastered with rainwater. The jagged pieces of hair that usually framed his face stuck to his cheeks messily. "Prove it," Fey stubbornly challenged.

Saryuu raised his head, and their eyes finally locked again. "Fey... You said it yourself. Shouldn't eating with you, and sleeping with you, and fighting for my life with you prove enough? Hell, I'm even taking the time to teach you how to swim. If I didn't care, I would've ditched you long ago."

"Prove it!" he oozed with desperation, his voice thick, "Stop running away! I can't keep -"

"Shut up!" Saryuu snapped for what felt to be the hundredth time now. The only difference, was that his own desperation to please Fey (and to also 'shut him up') overwhelmed him. He yanked at the white collar of Fey's sleeveless shirt, pulling him up against him before suddenly sealing Fey's lips with his own.

Fey froze, his anger vanishing as if it had never even been there as he could feel Saryuu's hands cupping his wet face, soaked strands of hair captured beneath his tanned fingers. But most of all, Saryuu's lips were so warm – so comforting against the mouth that had been craving for this sort of contact for as long as he could remember.

When Saryuu slowly withdrew, allowing for his eyes to gradually flutter open as he did so, he found Fey breathlessly searching his face.

Fey's heart had stopped in his chest, and he'd been completely silenced. He went to open his mouth to speak, but couldn't seem to find his voice. There was so much he wanted to say right then. He wanted to ask what the kiss had been for, and whether he should take it as anything more then just the heat of the moment.

Saryuu's own look had softened significantly as his eyes flickered across Fey's face desperately, an attempt at trying to express to Fey that he'd never been so flustered by somebody before.

He cared for Fey more then he cared for himself, and honestly, that fact scared him. He'd always been selfish... It was his nature. But more then anything, the thought of losing Fey terrified him. If he told Fey of his past, well, he'd very well cause that himself. It wasn't a risk he was willing to take, even if it meant that he needed to push Fey away or close him off at times. But so long as he never left him completely...

Before either of them could speak, an unfamiliar voice alerted them of a stranger's presence. The heavy rain had kept them from hearing the snapping and cracking of branches, but when they whipped around, they took in the form of a military official a few feet away – handgun raised at them.

"Saryuu Evan," he called. His husky voice was more then capable of sounding through even the downpour. "Long time no see."

Fey gave him a double take, taking in the stranger's toned figure. He was taller then either of them, his hair dark – it's tips fading white towards the back of his head. It was tied into a snowy coloured ponytail. He had olive skin, and golden eyes that gleamed with satisfaction even through the mist at his find.

Most importantly, Fey looked over towards Saryuu uncertainly, wondering how the man knew his name... The military really _**had**_ done something to Saryuu in the past, it seemed. Regardless, the stranger was with FEDRA, so Fey couldn't help but feel bitter at the very sight of him, either way. But knowing that they'd done something bad to Saryuu only fed his distaste further.

"Here I am on patrol outside of the wall, and I spot _**you**_," the stranger smirked, "Of all people. How unexpected."

"Zanark..." Saryuu returned the look, tilting his head as if to mock him, "I'd return to my lackeys, if I were you. You wouldn't want them to worry that you've been taken away from them by Infected, now would you?"

The soldier – Zanark, apparently – chuckled, "I thought you'd say that. Though really, I'm surprised that _**you **_of all people managed to survive outside of the quarantine zones for all these years. I figured you'd probably kicked the bucket by now." His expression grew darker – more sardonic. "I guess being a coward has _some _quirks. It's probably the only reason why you've managed to stay alive for so long. You were always good at running away."

"A coward? Me?" Saryuu laughed, "On the contrary, Zanark. Which of us is it who hides behind a wall?"

Zanark replied coolly, handgun still steadily poised, "I'd rather hide behind a wall then hide behind the lives of other people. How many have you selfishly sacrificed so that _**you**_could stay alive?"

Fey looked back and fourth between them as they remained locked in conversation. It seemed this 'Zanark' character knew more about Saryuu then even he did... He didn't want to cause Saryuu more trouble, so he took that moment to hastily shove his Firefly pendant into his shirt.

The movement drew in Zanark's attention, and he broke away from his conversation with Saryuu so that he could eye Fey curiously. Once satisfied, golden orbs flicked back to Saryuu, his attitude continuing to match Saryuu's own mocking one. "Who's this?" Zanark asked, "Still having kids smuggled from quarantine zones, I see."

"Now, now. Don't go pointing fingers," Saryuu basically sang, "I _**saved **_him." He snickered. "You're just upset that quality military material is being taken from you. That's cold, even for you, Zanark."

"Don't act like _you're_ all cute and soft, Saru," Zanark retorted, "You're far from innocent yourself."

He shrugged, unquestionably amused, "Well who is these days." He swept a hand through his weeping hair, brushing it back against his head before adding, "Now put the toy away, Zanark. We both know you're not going to use it. You're putting Fey on edge. And trust me – if I don't kill you, he most definitely will. _**I**_ may know what you're like, Zanark, but Fey on the other hand, well, he might not take any chances with you."

Saryuu seemed so certain that Zanark wouldn't hurt them... and Fey couldn't keep from wondering if maybe Saryuu and Zanark were... _friends_? It sounded weird to him. And maybe it even bugged him. But what relationship _was _normal in their world's current state, anyway?

He believed such even more so when Zanark tentatively lowered his gun and placed it back into it's holster. He began to approach them, closing the distance between them at a rate that was unsettling for the clueless green haired ex-Firefly. He stiffened, reaching for the lead pipe that was secured to his bag before Saryuu stopped him by grabbing at his forearm and holding it in place.

Fey shot him a bewildered look, watching as Saryuu took Zanark's hand in some form of greeting. The action, nor it's notion, lasted very long, however.

"So when did they have you transferred?" Saryuu crossed his arms over his chest, releasing his hold on Fey as he looked up towards his taller confidant. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again. Furthermore, I don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad one." He laughed a bit. "I suppose it's nice to see that you're still alive, anyway."

Zanark chuckled, "Really, I didn't think I'd ever see you again, either. I figured when you stopped coming to me, that you'd died. Ah, but I moved quarantine zones only last year."

"Were you promoted or something?" Saryuu added, sarcasm evident in his tone, "Aww, and really? You thought I was dead? You didn't think that I simply hadn't stuck around so that I wouldn't be dragged into doing anymore favours for you? That's cute, Zanark."

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd leave without having me fulfil owing _**you**_."

"Speaking of which, that would come in handy right about now," Saryuu noted, cocking his head as he asked, "Horses. You wouldn't be able to smuggle me one of those, would you?"

Fey couldn't keep from thinking that horses would be nice for them to acquire. But with the flooding, a horse would be rather useless to them. Unless Saryuu was thinking about taking them right past the quarantine zone...

Zanark shook his head, "I haven't seen a horse in ages... I wouldn't even know where to look."

Fey's eyes darted between them, and he finally decided to cut in before they could continue from there, "So you're friends...? Or something..."

"It's complicated." Saru went to explain "Zanark did a lot of smuggling jobs for me back when I first -" he cut himself off, correcting himself, "A few years back, he did a lot for me. I was in need of supplies. And he helped me on more then one occasion. Of course, I returned the favour. And if anything, he still owes me one last thing, don't you, Zanark?"

"It's not my fault I haven't seen you since... what? Year 2029?"

Saryuu pouted, seeming to tease the other, "Yes, but the fact that you still owe me a favour hasn't expired. So it's really a shame that you can't get me that horse..."

Zanark merely rolled his eyes, switching his attention to Fey. Again, golden eyes swept over Fey's form as Zanark looked him over.

Saryuu eyed him suspiciously, compelled to snap that it wasn't necessary for Zanark to stare for so long. But then the dark haired soldier stated, "You're a Firefly. Aren't you?"

Fey's eyes widened. H-how could he tell!? Had he seen his pendant before he'd managed to stuff it into his shirt? The greenette searched for a response, hesitating before he uttered unconvincingly, "N-no..." As usual, his ability to lie was far from flawless.

"The glower aside, I can tell because you look a lot like the Fireflies' Asurei Lune," Zanark directed an unwavering gaze at the green haired boy, his facial features unreadable.

Fey held the stare, genuine astonishment lighting up his minty coloured eyes. "You know my papa?" he asked in a breath.

The pouring rain had eased to but a drizzle. Otherwise, Zanark wouldn't have caught onto the greenette's breathless response. "From wanted posters," he replied dryly.

Saryuu pressed his lips together in a frown. "Is that so..." He didn't want to drift in that direction. He couldn't reject the possibility that maybe Zanark, being with FEDRA, had perhaps met Fey's father on the battlefield. What if Zanark had even killed him, assuming Asurei Lune was dead? Saryuu didn't know, and the last thing he wanted to do was appease Fey with the topic of their pasts. He didn't wish to stir such after their prior conversation...

"Oh," Fey looked away. What had he been expecting? Even if Zanark _**had**_ known his dad, it wouldn't have been a positive experience. The military and the Fireflies were at war.

"The old guy still alive?" Zanark didn't seem to notice his insensitivity. "We get Firefly attacks here, but none that your dad takes part in. Their raids are becoming a lot less frequent, too."

"Maybe because you're killing them," Fey spoke coolly, but the anger that he felt danced in his glower, "You're killing them for standing up to your stupid laws."

Zanark laughed, jerking a finger in Fey's direction as he said to Saryuu, "Typical Firefly. What can I expect from Asurei Lune's son. I'm kinda surprised you're hanging around one of em, Saru. Don't tell me they brainwashed you and you're one too." He looked as if he might crack up at the mere thought.

"Oh, shut up, Zanark," Saryuu said, "In my opinion, both FEDRA _and _the Fireflies are fools."

Zanark found the reply to be a typical one. "I thought you'd say that," he shrugged his shoulders, a small smile playing on his lips before he added fairly more seriously, "Really though, I'd leave this place when you still can."

"Is that a threat?" Saryuu's narrowed eyes drifted to Zanark's taller form.

Zanark almost appeared smug as he shrugged again. "Always so paranoid, aren't you, Saru? Think of it as a warning: I'm not the only soldier on patrol, you know. And if I could figure out the identity of this kid, I'm sure they could, too. Trust me. FEDRA knows of Asurei Lune's son, and for years, they've hoped to kidnap him and use him against the Fireflies as a hostage. It's dangerous for him to stay here."

"What are you!? Like two years older then me?" Fey scoffed, "Don't call me a kid. Besides, I'm not scared of your stupid patrol. I could kill them all."

"Not if there was a group of ten or so of them, each with semi-automatic rifles, you couldn't," Saryuu took Fey by the arm, tugging him in the direction in which they came. "Unfortunately, Zanark's right. We shouldn't hang around if we don't need to."

He'd hate to waste ammo in such an avoidable encounter. That, and most importantly, he couldn't put that sort of risk on Fey's life. There was no reason for him to.

Fey didn't struggle, silently obeying him. Saryuu only released him once he was completely certain that Fey was following after him as he turned to leave.

"Expect me to be back when I'm in need of a favour, Zanark~" Saryuu waved, a movement involving him saluting before he flicked his hand forward, curling all fingers but his thumb and index finger as if pointing at him.

"You should be grateful that I'm even letting you go in one piece," Zanark shot back, calling to the two as they began to leave.

Fey peered back at Zanark a few times, feeling a bit leery. But once he disappeared as they were swallowed up by the trees, Fey finally turned to Saryuu. "What's with you and Zanark?" he took hold of Saryuu's wrist, pressing softly, "Does he have anything to do with why you're so weird with FEDRA? What are you so afraid of? Tell me, Saru."

Saryuu _**was not **_having a freak'n repeat of the prior conversation.

He whipped around, jabbing a finger at him not because he was angry, but because he was upset. Anger had been drained from him at their kiss. But that didn't keep him from feeling upset. Especially when Fey was so persistent, when really, he had more then enough on his own plate that he'd never even mentioned. Fey didn't have the right to question him.

Violet orbs almost looked pleading as he stared into Fey's face, his eyebrows drawing together as he cried, "Like how you told me about what happened with the Hunters, Fey!? What the hell happened there!? It isn't like you - you've always been fine fighting them." It was the Infected that posed more of a problem for him. "Have you lost your nerve or something!? Is the killing too much for you!?"

Both a soaring temper and the utmost surprise sparked in Fey's eyes at the statement about the Hunters. He hadn't told anyone about what had happened there... "How did you -!?" He couldn't even complete his sentence, looking down at the wet, forest floor with hard eyes and a furrowed brow as he tried to comprehend how Saryuu knew anything about that at all.

"I'm not saying that you have to tell me the details," Saryuu delicately combed a hand through Fey's drenched strands of hair, "I don't need you to. I just want you to smile again."

The greenette lifted his head uncertainly, searching Saryuu's rain plastered face as his features slowly began to relax.

The snowy haired boy stroked Fey's face, cupping his cheek in his tanned palm before pulling him into his chest and wrapping both arms around Fey in a fierce hug. Trembling fingers closed around the thin fabric of Fey's orange shirt, and Fey's own arms hesitantly rose so that they could slide around his partner and rest at his back.

Even though they were completely drenched in rainwater, the both of them had never felt so comfortable. Calm. Warm. Almost as if they'd melted into one another.

"You know I'll always protect you, right?" Saryuu murmured into Fey's ear, "I won't ever let anything happen to you."

No matter what it was that'd happened with the Hunters, Saryuu swore to himself that he'd never let it happen again.

He felt Fey nod into his shoulder. "I know," he said, voice muffled, "We'll protect _**each other.**_ I'm not scared... Not anymore."

When they slowly parted from their drawn out embrace, Saryuu clasped a hand around Fey's – squeezing at it before he forced his fingers in-between porcelain ones. "How about we return to camp? We can have a bite to eat, sit around a fire, and dry off, hopefully."

Fey squeezed back. "Can you teach me how to swim some more once we get back?"

Saryuu laughed pleasantly, "What? In this rain?" He smiled to himself when Fey quietly giggled in return. "Ah, why not? We're already soaked anyway... For your 'lessons,' we'll be working on breathing techniques next, by the way."

"Hm, okay." Saryuu noticed as Fey's gaze kept drifting to him before he reluctantly added, "And also... the kiss... When we get back, can we talk about that?"

Fey could still feel his lips tingling...

Saryuu's blush blended in with his tanned cheeks. He coaxed the greenette forward, guiding him through the forest as they headed back towards their far-off campsite. He nodded, trying to keep Fey from noticing the pink in his face. "Of course we can... I'd like that, too."

The survivor felt it as his stomach fluttered as he worded his reply. He couldn't keep from feeling nervous. Based on the fact that Fey had asked them to talk about it at all, rather then leaving them to awkwardly pretend as if it'd never happened, was a good sign, at least. But that was still nerve wracking too. Because what if their talk resulted in more kissing? The thought of kissing him again – this time without any sort of heavy, overwhelming atmosphere influencing him – made him tremble in both anticipation, as well as anxiousness. But if there was one thing he did know, it was that he _**did **_want it... to kiss Fey again.

Due to the rain that was now beginning to dwindle, the scent of wet plants, tree bark and leaves lingered in the forest air, and a light, damp mist hung around them. It was a rather refreshing change as they cut through the forest considering it'd been so hot lately.

They walked silently between the looming trees, hand-in-hand. They were comforted not only by the forest's calmness right then, but by the way their hands seemed to be perfectly sculpted to fit together. That, and they couldn't help but smile to themselves, their cheeks rosy as the fact that they'd kissed at all truly sank in now that they actually had time to think about it.

They got lost a few times, and didn't even reach their campsite until the skies had cleared, it's ebony body twinkling with bright stars and a silver moon. But that didn't matter. Not when they were so content with one another in spite of their nerves, and need for closure.

Once they were settled, Saryuu encouraged for Fey to wait for him in the water as he worked on starting a fire.

Fey set his bag onto the ground, his eyes lingering on Saryuu as the snowy haired boy began to gather the supplies they'd prepared for their fire. He'd begun to build it when Fey finally looked away, removing his clothes. He didn't turn back to see if Saryuu was leering at him, his body heating up and his stomach only fluttering more so at the possibility.

Once undressed, Fey wandered towards the moonlit waters, his own porcelain form washed in it's light. He seemed to glow.

Saryuu could only suck in a sharp breath at the sight. Fey was the most lovely person he had ever laid eyes upon... scars and all. Even the night's dimness couldn't deceive him. Shadows were scattered across his figure, the light hitting strands of his hair and portions of his bared shoulders and back – the lovely bone structure that was his spine and shoulder blades gleaming in silver. Saryuu didn't need to see anymore then that, for he was already captivated. He had been long ago. Regardless, he looked away shyly soon after, listening to the gentle sounds of the pond as Fey waded through it before settling once he was at a decent depth.

The greenette watched Saryuu the entire time, and as Saryuu tried to start a spark for their fire, their eyes locked through the darkness. He couldn't look away, despite the way the gleam in those violet eyes left his heart hammering and his stomach knotting further.

Fey swallowed thickly, nerves eating away at him as he craved for nothing more then for Saryuu to join him. Especially when Saryuu's fixed gaze conveyed nothing to him but longing. He really wanted Saryuu... To _feel _Saryuu. And Saryuu wanted to close the divide between them, too. Fey could read it in his eyes.

Saryuu more then read the thirsty look in his own partner's minty orbs, eager to start the fire and finally join him so that he could fulfil Fey's desires.

When the fire finally began to strongly burn before him, it's orange flames dancing in the depths of his eyes, Saryuu stood and approached the pond. His eyes never tearing away from the greenette who awaited his presence, Saryuu began to slowly remove his clothes. He didn't protest, not even once, as Fey watched him.

Fey swallowed even more thickly then before, overwhelmed irises flickering over Saryuu as they became lost on where to look first. All he did know for certain was that his heart raced madly, and he was afraid that it might explode.

Fey inhaled and then exhaled unsteadily as Saryuu entered the water which was cast in silver moonlight. And with each step he took, more distance was closed between them, until finally, Saryuu stood before him and delicately touched his face.

"Saru..." Fey sighed, melting into the loving touch as he nuzzled into it.

Saryuu wordlessly massaged his thumb across the greenette's lips, violet eyes searching Fey's minty ones tentatively before he ran his second hand along Fey's arm lightly. It eventually dipped into the water, outlining Fey's frame until it reached his hip. With a light pull, Saryuu drew him closer before claiming Fey's lips in the chaste kiss that he'd been waiting for since their first one during the summer rain storm.

One tanned hand remained on Fey's hip as the other blindly searched for Fey's own hand, gently clasping onto it and intertwining their fingers.

Fey's eyes fluttered closed, and he trembled slightly due to his nervousness as he draped an arm around Saryuu's shoulders and grasped at the hair at the base of his neck as he tried to match his mouth to Saryuu's passionate movements.

Fey smiled against Saryuu's lips, and could feel the same from him in return, as they would occasionally bump noses clumsily – having never really kissed anybody before. But they gladly tried again, unable to feel any sort of embarrassment or discouragement towards it when the feeling of the other's sweet mouth against their own felt so very incredible.

Fey hadn't even realized just how much he'd needed this.

What'd happened back at the Hunter's base had stuck with him, and the fact that he and Saryuu couldn't even be open with one another had only made him more discouraged. The fact that Saryuu had stayed distant, despite his concerns, had done him more harm then the event itself. But as he could feel Saryuu's hands exploring him as if he were an island, it was as if his warm mouth was kissing away all of the doubt and pain. He just needed to feel close to him. That was all he'd wanted, and he hadn't even realized it.

When they finally parted, Fey was left panting, his hand still in Saryuu's as he struggled to reclaim his breath. Shades of pinks and reds coated their faces like dust.

"Remember to breathe," Saryuu stroked the greenette's jawline, and when Fey breathlessly chuckled, Saryuu murmured, "Breathe in. Breathe out." Saryuu performed calming breathes along with his words, and Fey matched him, his chest movements calmer now.

When Saryuu leaned in for one final kiss, he whispered seductively, "Remember to breathe this time."

Fey's heart skipped a beat at that, his eyes squeezing shut again as he welcomed Saryuu back with a hard kiss. He nibbled at Saryuu's bottom lip, causing the survivor to exhale sweetly through his nose as he deepened their kiss and tilted his head in a way that enabled Fey access into his mouth as he parted his lips.

The greenette eagerly explored his partner's mouth, so very absorbed in Saryuu's taste. He became lost within the warm motions of their mouths, unable to determine just where he ended and where Saryuu began. It was so warm... each touch so fond.

A quiet, muffled moan escaped Fey as his heart swelled with what could only be affection as he could feel Saryuu's hands in his hair, the warmth that must have been Saryuu's tongue sliding between his lips and passionately beginning to feel him out.

They continued to kiss for what felt like hours, their lips numb and the both of them completely breathless when they finally withdrew, though they didn't really want to.

Saryuu smiled, resting his forehead against Fey's.

"So much for swimming..." he murmured, his thumb making circles across Fey's throat, and his fingers massaging green hair at the base of Fey's neck.

Fey smiled softly, squeezing Saryuu's hand, which was still intertwined within his own. "Close enough. I mean, it was breathing exercises next, right?"

Saryuu chuckled, "Indeed."

Maybe it was a bit lame, but Saryuu couldn't keep from thinking that he was happy by the fact that Fey wasn't able to swim. It was that fact that'd led to Saryuu teaching him. Without that, he wasn't sure if he would've been able to bring back Fey's smile. That, nor work up the courage to kiss him.

They left the water, their hands still linked.

Their hands only drifted apart once they began to dress themselves upon reaching land. Their fire continued to burn fiercely, both it's heat and light glowing against them as they pulled their clothes on, shyly making eye contact occasionally and giving one another small smiles as they did so.

As he pulled his black v-neck over his bare chest, Saryuu suddenly broke the silence. "Do you know how to dance?"

Despite shaking his head, Fey's smile remained as he did up the zipper on his jeans. He was still feeling so very elated. "No."

"What? You don't know how to swim ; you don't know how to dance," he added with a smirk and a wink, "At least you're a good kisser~"

Fey laughed, appearing a bit sheepish at that last statement, "So _**you**_ know how to dance? Really? But you're like... the emperor of survival. I thought you only knew how to do _useful_things."

"I learned from a few friends," Saryuu mentioned, "They loved such things, though to be honest, I didn't take part as much as I should have...But either way, I'd like to now. So would you care to dance with me? We can slow dance. It's simple, so it shouldn't pose a problem."

"How's this going to work?" Fey flashed a sarcastic smile as Saryuu guided Fey's arms around his neck, and then placed his own hands at Fey's waist. "There's no music."

Saryuu faked upset, teasing, "How uncreative of you, Fey. You don't need music. Just follow my movements."

Fey recalled the time Saryuu had hummed a tune in the forest, his voice so soothing and crisp...

He buried his head into Saryuu's chest, murmuring, "Hum something."

Saryuu hesitated, as humming often came to him at random. He didn't really think about it, and now that he was put on the spot like this, he had no clue on what to hum.

Regardless, they'd already slowly begun to dance – shuffling their feet slightly so that they danced only in gradual circles. Eventually, he found himself humming softly in Fey's ear, and though he couldn't see it, he knew that it had brought a smile to Fey's lips.

One of his hands left Fey's waist, crawling it's way up to the back of Fey's head so that he could sweep his fingers through Fey's hair.

When Saryuu's song eventually faded into the night, he pulled away, placing his index finger on the greenette's chin so that he could tilt his head up. "It's late," he said, "Why don't you think about getting some sleep? I'll take the first shift."

Fey didn't seem to want to leave the warmth that was Saryuu's arms, hesitating as he answered, "I-if you're sure. Be sure to wake me in a few hours, okay?"

"Of course," Saryuu's lips quirked up, and Fey left his arms as he found a comfortable spot not too far from their fire.

Fey laid down, keeping his bag close to him, before he looked up towards Saryuu, beaming, "Watch the stars with me?"

"Now how could I decline?" They'd always enjoyed doing such things, but this time, Saryuu couldn't help but wonder if Fey was only generating reasons to stay close to him. Saryuu had no complaints.

He joined Fey at his side, laying down next to him.

Saryuu rolled onto his side, draping an arm around Fey and letting the greenette cuddle into him. His face pressed into Fey's hair, he sighed sweetly at it's scent and then clasped onto Fey's hand, holding it to his chest as they gazed up into the dark, starlit sky. It was like a beautiful, velvet blanket shimmering with diamonds and the luminous moon.

That, along with the soothing crackling of the fire, Saryuu's calm breathes, and the reassuring warmth of his tanned skin was more then enough to lull Fey to sleep.

No cluttered mind, unable to shut itself down.

Just Saryuu.

His security blanket in a cold world.

* * *

**lol for a chapter that wasn't even supposed to exist until recently, was it okay? Honestly, it was just supposed to jump to the chapter after this one. I hope you guys enjoyed it, anyway. **


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